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All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.

12 in FAMU band hazing
By Kyle Hightower lI lapsed following what prosecu-
tors say was a savage beating
Prosecutors are charging 12 during a hazing ritual. It hap-
former Florida A&M Univer- opened on a bus parked in a
sity band members with man- I hotel parking lot after Florida
slaughter in the 2011 hazing t A&M played Bethune-Cook-
death of drum major Robert man University in their annual
Champion. Ten of the band rivalry football game.
members had been charged Authorities say Champion
last May with felony hazing had bruises on his chest, arms,
for the death of 26-year-old shoulder and back and died of
Champion but prosecutors ROBERT CHAMPION internal bleeding. Witnesses
said last Monday they are rais- told emergency dispatchers
ing the charges to manslaugh- manslaughter, that the drum major was vom-
ter. They have also charged Champion died in Orlando iting before he was found un-
two additional defendants with in November 2011 after he col- responsive aboard the bus.

Democratic leaders take

more clout to Tallahassee
By Kathleen Haughney

TALLAHASSEE As state
lawmakers returned to Talla-
hassee Tuesday to begin this
year's 60-day session, look for
South Florida to have more of
a place at the legislative table.
The Democratic leaders of
both the Senate and House
are from Broward County. And
even though Republicans still
control the agenda and the
budget the clout of Sen.
Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauder-
dale and Rep. Perry Thurston,
D-Plantation, could result in
small payoffs for the region.
"You have the ear of the lead-
ership," Smith said. "Even
though the numbers are lop-
sided, there's a certain amount

SEN. CHRIS SMITH
D-Fort Lauderdale
of respect given to the title."
And both Thurston and
Smith are hoping to use that
to their advantage.
In one way, it's already

. trigger global health changes
By Ron Winslow
A Mississippi baby born with
the AIDS virus appears to have
been cured after being treated
with an aggressive regimen of
drugs just after her birth 2 /2
years ago, an unusual case
that could trigger changes in
care for hundreds of thou-
sands of babies born globally
each year with HIV.
The findings, reported last
Sunday by researchers, mark
Only the second documented
case of a patient being cured
of infection with the human
Simmune-deficiency virus. The
first, an adult man known as -Johns Hopkns Medicine
the Berlin patient, was cured Deborah Persaud of Johns Hoplins Children's Center called it 'really
as a result of a 2007 bone- unheard of'that after the treatment ended,there was no detectable virus.
marrow transplant.
The new case was discovered their lives. or adolescents and are almost
after the baby girl's mother Researchers cautioned that always diagnosed and treated
stopped treatment on her, and the report on the baby girl in- long after their initial infection.
doctors realized that the virus volves just one patient, and But if further study confirms
was undetectable even without the findings appear to have lit- that very early treatment can
drugs, which HIV patients nor- tle immediate relevance to peo- cure HIV-infected newborns, it
mally must take for the rest of ple who contract HIV as adults Please turn to CURE 7A

FBI had eye on Whitney
By Ann Oldenburg fices of Nippy Inc., in which a
woman demanded that unless
The FBI, in answer to Free- Houston paid $100,000, "cer-
dom of Information Act re- tain details" of her "private life"
quests, has released files on would be revealed. A later let-
Whitney Houston. ter upped the ante to $250,000
Among the 128 pages of doc- and claims to have "intimate
uments are several fan letters details" of Houston's "romantic
and FBI paperwork regarding relationships."
an extortion case that eventu- The FBI interviewed Hous-
ally was closed without anyone ton, two lawyers and her fa-
being prosecuted. But it does their, John Houston. The singer
appear that Houston paid off tells agents she considered the
the person who was demand- woman "a friend" and "did dis-
ing hush money., cuss personal things" with her.
In 1992 a letter, marked "ex- It appears from the docu-
tortion" by the FBI, was sent ments that Houston's father
to Houston's New Jersey of- WHITNEY HOUSTON Please turn to WHITNEY 4A

Black women

lead way in new

HIV infections
Lives also threatened by obesity,
breast and cervical cancer
By D. Kevin McNeir "
kunciittia'i on& iewni,.1x111 _1-- bBI .i(l!
A one-day mini conference is coming to
Liberty City on Saturday. March c9 that
will address HIV AIDS. breast cancer and
a host of other illnesses that continue to
plague Black women at alarming rates. |
The all-day event, which takes place at
the African Cultural Arts Center [1611 NW\V M
22nd Ave.j. is part of a weekend of acti\- ILL
ties highhghting National W\omen and Girls
Please turn to HIV 4A

U.S. boosts war role in Africa

.-American drones help French target militants in Mali
By Adam Entous, David Gauthier- ists in Mali, providing sensitive
Villars and Drew Hinshaw intelligence that pinpoints militant
targets for attack, U.S. and allied of-
The L.S. is narkedv, .'idenirn. itc ficials disclosed.
r:le in thi- stepp,-d up Frnh-led U.S. Reaper drones have provided
mlidtar-N c-mLpaI-gn aga.r 1 nst ext1rm- intelligence and targeting infor-
S".mation that have led to nearly 60
French airstrikes in the past week
alone in a range of mountains the
size of Britain, where Western intelli-
gence agencies believe militant lead-
ers are hiding, say French officials.
The operations target top militants,
including Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the
S. mastermind of January's hostage
"- .. raid on an Algerian natural gas
...- .plant that claimed the lives of at
least 38 employees, including three
Americans. Chad forces said they
killed him last Saturday,
r Please turn to AFRICA 4A

WWRTa;4,Ame~lne9o -o

OPINION

2A THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY

Too many leaders silent in

wake of youth shootings
The recent rash of shootings and gun-related deaths
in Miami's Black communities should have served as
a clarion call to every man and woman that considers
themselves a leader. With seven shootings in just one week re-
sulting in the deaths of two Black, teenaged boys, one would
have expected to see scores of Black preachers, politicians, edu-
cators and the like getting down to some serious business with
law enforcement officials. But except for a few press conferenc-
es, we're still waiting for something substantiative to happen.
Perhaps there are major plans being discussed in the wings
and about to be revealed. We can only assume that there are.
However, in the meantime there remains the opportunity for
more senseless violence, more bloodshed and more deaths. And
given how precious the gift of life is, we urge the collective elders
of this community to make a stand and a difference now. No
effort is too small nor should any one step be lauded as a de-
finitive cure-all solution. The escalating violence that is snuff-
ing out the lives of our youth way before their time is part of a
complex set of issues that are unlikely to be solved overnight.
In a communique received last Tuesday, we hear that County
Commissioner Audrey Edmonson has called for a "collective,
collaborated and coordinated community response." The re-
sult will be a Walking One Stop a signature initiative of the
Miami-Dade Anti-Gang Strategy. These and other kinds of ac-
tions, that allow those traumatized by violence to share their
stories and concerns with leaders who are most able to impact
change and reverse the trend, may be just what we need. But
again, it's just a start not an end.
Blacks are good at being reactive but in the end nothing really
changes. We need some proactive efforts, like the Walking One
Stop, to move to the forefront. If not, the summer could be a hot
one with more bloodshed than Miami has ever seen.

Better care for

young offenders

It took four years. But the Obama administration has
finally filled an important post at the Justice Depart-
ment's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Pre-
vention, which oversees juvenile justice policy and distrib-
utes federal grants to encourage reform at the state and local
levels.
The new department administrator, Robert Listenbee Jr.,
is a respected trial lawyer and public defender from Philadel-
phia who has been extensively engaged with juvenile justice
policy issues at both the state and national level. If he uses
the office to full advantage, Mr. Listenbee can build on recent
policy advances and push more states to humanize their ju-
venile justice systems.
Research has increasingly shown that locking up young
people has negative effects. It places them at higher risk
of dropping out of school and of being unemployed, and it
makes it more likely that they will become permanently en-
tangled with the criminal justice system.
By contrast, dealing with young low-level offenders through
community-based programs keeps them more closely con-
nected to their families and to local institutions, while also
cutting recidivism.
As more states have gotten this message sometimes after
being sued for mistreating children in custody the num-
ber of young offenders held in confinement has begun to go
down. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, which focuses on
disadvantaged children, reported this week that the number
of young people locked away has recently reached a 35-year
low, dropping from over 107,000 in 1995 to under 71,000 in
2010, the most recent year for which federal statistics are
available. Crime has also declined, vindicating these policy
changes.
An analysis of federal data by the Justice Policy Institute, a
research group, singled out five states Arizona, Connecti-
cut, Louisiana, Minnesota and Tennessee that cut their
confined youth populations 50 percent or more by changing
policies that steered children into locked facilities and by
investing in community alternatives to incarceration.
Despite these recent improvements, the United States still
leads the developed world in the number of young people it
locks up. Mr. Listenbee should encourage the states to lock
up fewer young people. He should also make sure that those
for whom community placements may be inappropriate are
kept safe and are provided the rehabilitative services they
need. -New York Times

CREDO OF THE BLACK PRESS
The Black. Press believes inai America can best lead the
world from racial and national antagonism when it accords to
e/ery person, regardless of race, creed or color, his or her
human and legal rights. Having no person, hearing no person
the Black Press strives to help every person in the firm belief
Inat all persons are hun as long as anyone is held back

Ap11 !! ..-

,A., *
'L--L -- ~ '"

BY PERRY BACON, JR

Why are R
The drama around the $85 bil-
lion in federal government cuts
due to start on March 1, known
as the sequester, centers around
one fundamental question: How
much has President Obama's
victory in November changed
the nation's political dynamics
on fiscal issues?
Since Election Day, President
Obama has demanded Repub-
licans back down from some of
their strongest-held positions,
arguing the American public
handed him a mandate to re-
chart the country's fiscal course
by electing him a second time.
Yes, the Republicans would al-
low higher taxes on the wealthy,
Obama insisted, and the GOP
eventually conceded. Yes, Re-
publicans would allow the coun-
try to raise its debt limit with-
out accompanying spend cuts,
Obama insisted, and again the
GOP relented.
With the sequester, the Repub-
licans finally feel like they are in
a fight they can win. They say
the president, who is insisting
the $85 billion in cuts this year
be replaced by an agreement

republicanss
that includes both spending
reductions and tax increases,
can't cast the.GOP as a crazy,
anti-tax party after Republicans
just allowed a tax increase less
than two months ago. And while
allowing the sequester to occur
could result in thousands of lay-
offs and furloughs for workers,
Republicans won't be blamed
for a full economic meltdown,

fighting Ob
cuts. (He proposes either a mini-
mum 30 percent tax on people
making more than $1 million a
year or limiting tax deductions
for people who make more than
$200,000.)
But for most Republican mem-
bers of Congress, opposing tax
increases and insisting on pure-
ly spending cuts is right in line
with the views of their conserva-

ince Election Day, President Obama has demanded Re-
publicans back down from some of their strongest-held
positions ...

which could have resulted from
going over the federal debt limit.
In fact, the GOP can point out,
as party leaders are, that the se-
quester was originally proposed
by top Obama aides.
On the sequester, both par-
ties' positions are much more
hardened. Obama argues cor-
rectly that the majority of the
voting public shares his view
that deficit reduction plans
should include a combination
of tax increases and spending

tive constituents. For individual
GOP members of Congress, the
low polling ratings for both their
party and Congress overall make
no difference: the vast majority
of Republicans in Congress easi-
ly won reelection in 2012 despite
serving in the most unpopular,
least productive Congress in a
generation and will likely win
again in 2014.
The argument over the $85
billion is in truth a proxy for a
larger debate. In January, when

ama? B^L
many Republicans joined con-
gressional Democrats in approv-
ing an increase in the tax rate
for income above $400,000 each
year, the GOP viewed that as a
concession it would not make it
again. It was not to set a prec-
edent of raising taxes as part of
future deficit reduction agree-
ments, Republicans argued.
Obama said the exact oppo-
site.
"I want to make clear that any
agreement we have to deal with
these automatic spending cuts
that are being threatened for
next month, those also have to
be balanced, because, remem-
ber, my principle always has
been let's do things in a bal-
anced, responsible way. And
that means the revenues have to
be part of the equation in turn-
ing off the sequester and elimi-
nating these automatic spend-
ing cuts, as well as spending
cuts."
Perry Bacon, Jr. is a veteran
political journalist and commen-
tator. He is currently an on-air
analyst for MSNBC and political
editor for NBC's theGrio

B BY LEE A DANIELS, JNPA Columnist

Sequester, a tool for GOP's political chaos
It's deja vu all over again, start-up of the sequester would But, albeit the disruption and as they lost the d(
If this is America in the age cause significant damage. For economic hardship the cuts will over whether Pre,
of the Obama presidency, here one thing, Secretary of Defense cause immediately if they have deserved re-elect
we are at another point of politi- Leon Panetta has warned they to begin to be implemented, the Washington Posl
cal brinkmanship between the will have to "place the vast ma- sequester is only a pawn in the poll conducted la:
president and the Republicans jority of (the department's) civil- game the Republican Party has a Bloomberg Nat:
in Congress. ian work force on administrative been playing since President leased last week f

This time it's over the auto-
matic governmental tripwire of
federal budget cuts called the
sequester. As this column is be-
ing written, no agreement has
been yet brokered that would
eliminate the sequester's March
1 deadline for implementing
$85 billion in spending reduc-
tions across such myriad fed-
,eral agencies as the Department
of Defense, Head Start, the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention, and even funds for
airport security.
The entire amount of spending
reductions would not have to be
implemented immediately if the
March 1 deadline for an agree-
ment is missed. In fact, those
cuts are slated to take effect in
various federal agencies over the
next nine years.
But there's no question the

numerous analyses have pointed out that Republicans have
lost the argument over the need for the sequester just
as they lost the debate last year over whether President
Obama deserved re-election.

furlough," and other officials
have said that such actions
as furloughing some air traffic
controllers and shrinking some
early-childhood programs would
have to be taken.
For another, the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office has
said that implementing the mea-
sures would reduce economic
growth by 0.6 percent this year,
enough to eliminate 750,000
jobs developments the na-
tion's fragile economic recovery
can hardly afford. Other ana-
lysts estimate the number of lost
jobs at closer to 1 million.

Obama took office. That game
has one goal: political chaos.
Washington Post columnist
E.J. Dionne wrote last week
that "time is what Washington
is wasting on an utterly artificial
crisis, driven not by economics
but by ideology, partisan inter-
est and an obsession over a word
- 'sequester that means
nothing to most Americans ....
Republicans are losing the argu-
ment but winning the time war."
Numerous analyses have
pointed out that Republicans
have lost the argument over the
need for the sequester just

debate last year
sident Obama
tion. And a
t/ABC News
st month and
ional poll re-
ound that the

president's favorability ratings
are at or near three-year highs
- while more and more Ameri-
cans have unfavorable opin-
ions about the GOP. In fact, the
Bloomberg National poll found
that just 35 percent of those
surveyed had a favorable view
of the Republicans its lowest
rating in the three years of the
poll's existence.
And nothing they've done
since their November "shellack-
ing" by the president has given
any indication they've shed their
intent to be the "whites-only"
party and surrendered their
strategy of fomenting political
chaos.
Lee A. Daniels is a longtime
journalist based in New York
City. His latest book is Last
Chance: The Political Threat to
Black America.

BY RAi'[JARD JACKSON, NJNPA Columnist

Latinos a priority for Obama, not Blacks
I have been extremely criti- the middle class and continue to ics last month. discuss the need
cal of President Obama for us- build ladders of opportunity for The statement that was re- fairer for and grn
ing the Black community as his those striving to get there." leased by the White House said class by fixing oui
personal political pawn. I have Once again there was not one after the president met with gration system so
been just as critical of the Black businessman at the table, even Black leaders: by the same rules
community's acceptance of that though the stated purpose of "The President met with Afri- thanked the Men
treatment. There are so many the meeting was to discuss the can American leaders yesterday long standing leach
other issues I would like to write economy. in the Roosevelt Room at the issue, and reitera
about Africa, economics, in- The Black apologists that White House to continue their a top legislative pi
ternational trade, etc. but Obama met with last week of- dialogue on his plan to strength- There you hav
I feel compelled to speak out ten criticize me for being too en the economy for the middle Obama is stuck
when there is an injustice being hard on Obama. They say he class and continue to build lad- ing tide lifts all b
perpetrated against my commu- can't do anything overtly target- ders of opportunity for those speaks with Blac
nity, especially from within. ing Blacks because whites will striving to get there, he talks to Hispa
Last week, Obama did a drive- think he is being partial. But it's Hardly sounds like a Black the "I"-word in
by meeting with the usual cast OK for whites to think Obama is Agenda. then talks about c
of Black, media appointed lead- being partial to Hispanics and Now examine the statement to citizenship and
ers Al Sharpton, Ben Jeal- homosexuals when he pushes released by the White House one of his top leg
ous, etc. Nothing unusual about legislation that they are inter- after the meeting last month ties.
that. But, what I did find un- ested in. with the Congressional Hispanic I rest my case.
usual was the stated purpose So, I bring to your attention Caucus: Raynard Jacks
of the meeting. According to two statements issued by the "The President and Senior Ad- & CEO of Rayna
the White House, the purpose White House, one after mnecitin: ministration Officials met this Associates, LLC.,
was to discuss Obama's "plan with Blacks last week .: morning with leaders of the Con- D.C.-based public
*o screng.hen the economy for other after meeting \wih Hisparn- re.s;ional Hispanic Caucus to emment affairs fir

to male ngs
ow the middle
r broken immi-
everyone plays
. The President
ibers for their
dership on the
ted that this is
priority.
e it: President
: on his ris-
boats when he
ks. Yet, when
anics, he says
migration. He
creatingg a path
says it will be
gslative priori-

on is president
rd Jackson &
a Washington,
relations/gov-
m.

I One Family Serving Dode and Broward Counties Sinte 1923

_I 1

OPINION

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY

3A THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

CORNER

g BY JULILANNE MALVEAUX, INPA Columnisi

Turning the clock back on Voting Rights

Shelby County, Ala. is suing
the Justice Department because
they think that Section 5 of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 (and
its reauthorization in 1982 and
2006) is unfair. The facts: The
small city of Calera redistrict-
ed its boundaries in a way that
the sole Black councilman lost
his seat. Section 5 of the Voting
Rights Act forced a new election
with different boundaries, and
Ernest Montgomery regained his
seat.
Shelby County (which includes
parts of Birmingham) objects to
the provision of the Voting Rights
Act that requires that areas with
histories of past discrimination
have changes to voting laws and
boundaries monitored by the
Justice Department. This would
include many southern states,
as well as areas, such as Alaska,
that have historical discrimina-
tion against Native people, and
Texas and parts of California,
that have historic discrimination
against Latinos. They say that
it's all equal now and there is no
need to monitor them.
It is surprising that the Na-
tional Black Chamber of Com-
merce has filed an amicus brief.
I'd be most interested in leaning

where the Black Chamber polled
its membership before filing this
brief. If I were a member, I'd
have to cancel my membership.
If my dues were used to support
that nonsense, I'd be repelled. I
guess it just goes to show that
"everybody brown ain't down,"
and raises questions about this
organization.

tion, there would have been no
need for the Voting Rights Act.
The Fourteenth Amendment ac-
tually states that state popula-
tion decides the number of Con-
gressional representatives, but
if enough people are denied the
right to vote, Congressional rep-
resentation should be reduced.
This provision has never been

helby County (which includes parts of Birmingham) ob-
jects to the provision of the Voting Rights Act that re-
quires that areas with histories of past discrimination
have changes to voting laws and boundaries monitored by the
Justice Department.

Many suggest that Section 2
of the Voting Rights Act means
there is no need for Section
5. While Section 2 allows law-
suits, it forces plaintiffs to show
that changes in voting provisions
are motivated by "invidious prac-
tices." Section 5 says that those
who are known to have engaged
in such practices are required to
have the Department of Justice
review them.
If our nation had never chosen
to implement the 14th and 15th
Amendments to the Constitu-

enforced, even when the whole
Black population in some south-
ern states could not vote.
The Fifteenth Amendment pro-
hibits denying the right to vote
based on race, color, and previ-
ous condition of servitude, and
authorized Congress to enforce
this amendment with the appro-
priate action and legislation. Un-
til 1876, federal troops enforced
the right that Blacks had to
vote, spurring an unprecedented
level of Black civic participa-
tion. Because the Black popu-

lation (and nruimber of '.otersJ
was greater than the number of
Whites in Mississippi, Louisiana
and South Carolina, Blacks were
elected as lieutenant governors,
secretaries of state and treasur-
ers. No wonder some were eager
to nullify the Fifteenth Amend-
ment. Federal troops were with-
drawn from southern states in
1877; in 2013, 136 years later,
southern states are asking that
voting protection be withdrawn
from their states.
Why? Just as the election of
16 Black legislators alarmed the
South, so has the election and
reelection of President Barack
Obama alarmed our nation. It
reminds us of why we had
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments, and in, our na-
tion's failure to implement, the
Voting Rights Act.
The court heard these argu-
ments on Wednesday, Feb.27. We
must be alarmed and, if we live
in states that filed amicus briefs,
aware of those who would sup-
press our vote.
Julianne Malveaux is a Wash-
ington, D.C. -based economist and
writer. She is President Emerita
of Bennett College for Women in
Greensboro, N.C.

BY MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN NNPA Columnist

SWhat killed Kennedy and Trayvon?

Should we be forced to find an

insurer under the new health care?

RAQUEL MILLER, 20
Liberty City, student

"It's not fair
or right to
force people to
buy health in-
surance."

LATOYA HAYES, 24
Miami, cosmetologist

"No, it's not
their deci-
sion."

Black children, youths, and
families know first-hand that
the killing of Black children
by gun violence is not new but
a relentlessly unreported and
under-reported plague that
has been disproportionately
snuffing out Black child lives
for a very long time. Fifteen
percent of children and teens
are Black but 45 percent of
all children and youths killed
by guns in 2010 were Black.
Black boys 15 to 19 years
old were 28 times more likely
than white boys the same age
to be killed in a gun homicide.
Shortly after President
John F. Kennedy's assassina-
tion, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. wrote that it was time for
our nation to do some soul-
searching, and while the
question "Who killed Presi-
dent Kennedy?" was impor-
tant, answering the question
"What killed President Ken-
nedy?" was even more critical.
Dr. King believed the answer
was that "our late President
was assassinated by a morally
inclement climate": "It is a cli-
mate filled with heavy torrents
of false accusation, jostling
winds of hatred, and raging

storms of violence. It is a cli-
mate where men cannot dis-
agree without being disagree-
able, and where,they express
dissent through violence and
murder. It is the same climate
that murdered Medgar Evers
in Mississippi and six inno-
cent Negro children in Bir-
mingham, Alabama."

violence and hatred have be--
come popular pastimes."
The same winds of hatred,
storms of violence, and easy
access to and glorification of
guns that Dr. King believed
killed President Kennedy
would soon also kill Dr. King.
Fifty years after Dr. King de-
scribed our morally inclement

While there are troubling undertones of racial suspi-
cion and fear in Trayvon Martin's killing which must
be addressed as justice is sought, the fact is that
most Black young people murdered by guns are killed by Black
shooters...

Dr. King further noted that
the undercurrents of hatred
and violence that made up
this morally inclement climate
were fueled by our cultural
embrace of guns: "By our
readiness to allow arms to be
purchased at will and fired at
whim, by allowing our movie
and television screens to teach
our children that the hero is
one who masters the art of
shooting and the technique of
killing, by allowing all these
developments, we have cre-
ated an atmosphere in which

clirpate, the outward signs of
racial intolerance and hatred
have undoubtedly diminished
but there are still far too many
reminders of the dangers lurk-
ing everywhere that devastate
us all.
While there are troubling
undertones of racial sus-
picion and fear in Trayvon
Martin's killing which must
be addressed as justice is
sought, the fact is that most
Black young people murdered
by guns are killed by Black
shooters just as most white

children and teens mitrered
by guns are killed by white
shooters. Sadly, the tragedies
of Tucson, Aurora, Newtown
and elsewhere made clear that
none of us are safe anywhere
or immune to the pervasive
threat of gun violence.
We are all in the same boat
and must act together to stop
the plague of violence. Gun
safety laws that only apply
in one city or state can't fully
stop our national epidemic of
gun proliferation and violence
any better than we can stop
a flu epidemic by vaccinating
one family. We must struggle
together to stop gun violence
and to change the morally in-
clement climate that Dr. King
warned about if we are going
to protect all of our nation's
children everywhere.
Marian Wright Edelman is
president of the Children's
Defense Fund whose Leave
No Child Behind mission is to
ensure every child a Healthy
Start, a Head Start, a Fair
Start, a Safe Start and a Mor-
al Start in life and successful
passage to adulthood with
the help of caring families and
communities.

"No. Some people can't afford
it and penaliz-
ing us for that
is ridiculous."

a

DWIGHT DORSETT, 55
Liberty City, disabled

"You have to
find insurance
- as simple as
that."

SALLY JONES, 62
Allapattah, retired

"No, I think
everyone
should have
it. But sup-
pose someone
is not working
and they can't '
afford it.

Vital lessons from Essex and Dorner

Of the thousands of stories I
covered since I began my career
in 1970 primarily for Sports
Illustrated, the St. Louis Post-
Dispatch and the Chicago Tri-
bune, Emerge magazine and
the NNPA News Service one
has affected me more than any
other. It was the violent death
of 23-year-old Mark Essex on
Jan. 7,1973.
Essex, who was known as
the New Orleans Sniper, killed
nine innocent people, includ-
ing five police officers, and
wounded 13 others. I was
sent to Emporia, Kan. to in-
terview relatives and friends
in an effort to learn what trig-
gered Essex's outburst. What
has stayed with me over the
years is not the carnage he -
though that's unforgettable -
it's the events that led up to
that point. Essentially, Essex
felt that he had been harassed
in the Navy, an account partly
supported by friends, and he
became so embittered that he
was ready to die.
In fact, that's exactly what
he wrote home to his parents
shortly before his death. I in-

terviewed Essex's mother and
father after his bullet-riddled
body was pulled from the roof
of the Howard Johnson Ho-
tel and sent back to Emporia
for burial. Family members
told me how a quiet, happy
go lucky youth became em-
bittered in the Navy. So bitter
that he began hating all White
people and was never the same

Dorner wrote about a White
police officer using the n-word.
Dorner said when he chal-
lenged the officer to not use
the word in his presence, the
officer replied, "I'11 say it when
I want." At that point, Dorner
said he jumped over the pas-
senger seat and began stran-
gling the officer until they were
separated by other cops.

When I first heard about Christopher Dorner, the for-
mer Los Angeles cop who also went on a murder
spree, I was reminded of Mark Essex. Like Essex, he
complained of reporting racist acts to his supervisor and nothing
was done about it.

again.
When I first heard about
Christopher Dorner, the for-
mer Los Angeles cop who also
went on a murder spree, I was
reminded of Mark Essex. Like
Essex, he complained of re-
porting racist acts to his su-
pervisor and nothing was done
about it. His manifesto, while
rambling, gave clear details of
his torment.

Dorner also wrote about the
blue line, the code of ethics
that prevents cops from testi-
fying against one another, even
when that officer is wrong.
In the aftermath of the deaths
of Mark Essex and Christopher
Dorner, there is something we
can take away from their lives.
One of our greatest chal-
lenges when dealing with
young people, especially, is

that we must teach them how
to survive life's slings and ar-
rows without going over the
edge. It would be interesting if
community-wide forums were
organized for young people
to listen to what their elders
went through. Not just listen
to them, but learn from them.
Alex Haley said his grand-
mother taught him to listen
more than he spoke. She said
if God had wanted us to talk
more than listen, He would
have given us two mouths and
one ear.
Like you, I don't know ex-
actly how we can prevent
people from resorting to self-
destructive deadly violence.
But I know we must start
somewhere in our community
- whether it's school, church,
home, community centers or a
combination.
George E. Curry, former ed-
itor-in-chief of Emerge maga-
zine, is editor-in-chief of the
National Newspaper Publish-
ers Association News Ser-
vice (NNPA.) He is a keynote
speaker, moderator, and me-
dia coach.

a I

ZMViami VimeW
The Miami Times welcomes and encourages letters on its editorial commentaries
as well as all other material in the newspaper. Such feedback makes for a healthy
dialogue among our readership and the community. Letters must, however, be
150 words or less, brief and to the point, and may be edited for grammar, style
and clarity. All letters must be signed and must include the name, address and
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ters to: Letters to the Editor, The Miami Times, 900 N.W. 54th Street, Miami, FL
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I 1 -1 -- -- - - --. - -

4A THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY

Leome Culmer: Female griot says

women have come a long way

Wife, mother, historian, church leader and much more

By D. Kevin McNeir
kmcneir@mimintimesonliine.com

Women's history was relatively
ignored just a generation ago.
But things have changed for the
better, since 1980 when Presi-
dent Jimmy Carter declared the
week of March 8th as National
Women's History Week. As word
spread across the country, state
departments of education en-
couraged celebrations as a way
of achieving gender equity goals
within classrooms. By 1986, 14
states had declared March as Na-
tional Women's History Month.
Congress, upon the urgings of
thousands of individuals and
hundreds of educational and
women's organizations, made
the observance a national one in
1987.
During this month, The Miami
Times will feature one local wom-
an who has contributed to the
Black community in numerous
and significant ways. This week
we include an interview with
Leome Frances Scavella Culmer,
87 the widow of Father John
Edwin Culmer. Culmer was the

LEOME CULMER
rector of The Historical St. Agnes'
Episcopal Church in Miami for
34 years.
"I stayed pretty much behind
the scenes when my husband
was alive [Father Culmer"died 50
years ago in 1963]," she said. "He
was much older than me and was
already a prominent clergyman
both statewide and nationally.
Women in those days were either
teachers, secretaries or house-
wives. Even though I graduated
from both high school and college
[Booker T. Washington, 1944 and

Bethune-Cookman University,
1949], my husband wanted me
to stay home and take care of our
children [five]. I guess my public
life began after his death. I was
no longer a pastor's wife and had
more time on my hands. I wanted
to use my education and interest
in history to make a difference.
Women today can be whatever
they want they can be doctors,
dentists, lawyers even preach-
ers. We didn't have such options
when I was young.
"I also remember the days when
Liberty Square .was first built
[243-single family units opened
in 1937 near NW 62nd St. and
15th Ave.]. My husband was one
of the leading voices demanding
better housing for our people.
Blacks lived in terrible conditions
then. There was no room left in
Overtown and most Blacks didn't
have running water, indoor toi-
lets, gas or electricity."
Culmer mentions her work with
the Black Archives as something
of which she is most proud -
after her role as the matriarch for
five children [one daughter, Fran-
cena, is deceased] and six grand-

children. Culmer, along with Dr.
Dorothy Fields, is an Archives
charter member. The two shared
a unique experience in the early
days of the organization.
"We were invited to Tallahassee
when Bob Graham was Florida's
governor because of our efforts
to chronicle the history of Black
Miami," she said. "We stayed in
the same room that President
Carter once used and our names
are listed in the guestbook right
under his. Dorothy and I were
excited and honored."
Culmer is a consummate
history buff serving as the
church historian at her beloved
St. Agnes and also developing
scripts that are used by The Af-
rican American Committee of
Dade Heritage Trust during their
annual Women's History Month
Luncheon [scheduled this year
on Mon., March 18]. The pro-
gram honors pioneer women
who are buried at the Miami
City Cemetery.
"I still have a lot of writ-
ing I want to do including my
memoirs and those of my hus-
band's," she said. "And since
I'm getting older, I'd better get
some of it done soon."

Democrats take added clout to Tallahassee.

CLOUT
continued from 1A

budget axed money for a health
clinic in Deerfield Beach that is
jointly funded by the state and
the local hospital district. After
reviewing the governor's pro-
posal, both Smith and Thurston
spoke to the budget chairs in the
House and Senate to make sure
the funding will be in the final
budget that's produced in May.
"Because of our leadership po-
sitions, we can make sure it's in
there," Smith said.
They're also making their pres-
ence felt on a few wider issues
that are key to several South
Florida counties and the entire
state election reform and edu-
cation.

In the House, they're taking
input from Thurston's caucus.
Last week, Republicans accepted
a Democratic amendment to the
House election bill that requires
a minimum of 64 hours of early
voting during the new 14-day pe-
riod.

PARENT TRIGGER BILL
In the Senate, Smith has been
making progress in trying to
"soften" what's known as the par-
ent trigger bill. It allows parents
at a failing school to choose a
turn-around strategy, including
making the school a charter.
Some of the headway Smith and
Thurston are making is largely
attributed to better relationships
with their GOP counterparts -
Weatherford and Senate Presi-

dent Don Gaetz. Smith, who was
House Democratic .leader from
2004 to 2006, had a successful
partnership with then-Speaker
Allan Bense, R-Panama City, who
is Weatherford's father-in-law.
Smith's successor, former Rep.
Dan Gelber, D-Miami, had a testy
relationship with Speaker Marco
Rubio, R-Miami.
During the past two years, for-
mer House Speaker Dean Can-
non, R-Winter Park, and his-
Senate counterpart, Mike Hari-
dopolos, R-Merritt Island, used
their party's super-majority to
ram though a number of contro-
versial bills, including drug test-
ing for welfare recipients, pension
reform and restrictions on abor-
tions and voting rights. However,
Democrats in November picked

Black women at greater risk for HIV

HIV
continued from 1A

HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, which
will be observed on Sunday, March
10.
While no one would dispute the
fact that HIV/AIDS is still a seri-
ous public health issue in the U.S.,
women now represent a larger
share of new HIV infections than
they did in the early days of the
epidemic. Nearly 280,000 women
are living with HIV/AIDS in the
U.S., according to the Centers for
Disease Control [CDC]. Women of
color are particularly at risk and
accounted for 64 percent (two-
thirds) of all new AIDS diagnoses
among women in 2010. And while
the percentage has decreased from
72 percent, according to Vanessa
Mills, executive director for Em-
power "U," Inc., that's no reason to
celebrate.
"The sheer numbers haven't gone
anywhere and Black women are
still fighting for their lives," Mills
said. "As more white and Hispanic
women test HIV-positive, the over-
all percentages for Black women
show a slight decrease. However,
we are still disproportionately af-
fected. Don't be fooled by statistics
- the face of AIDS is still Black."

YOUTH MAKE UP LARGEST
INCREASE IN INFECTIONS
Leisha McKinley-Beach, director
of Stakeholder Engagement for the
Black AIDS Institute, agrees with
Mills, saying that she reviews the
recent data with "caution."

"The CDC released a new fact
sheet a few months ago show-
ing that for all women, there was
a decrease in HIV infections by
21 percent. That tells us that our
prevention efforts nationwide are
working. But National Women and
Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is
critical to informing women,. and
young girls in particular, about
their constant risk of acquiring the
HIV virus. It goes without saying
that Black gay men have been dev-
astated by HIV/AIDS. But some-
times in our efforts to address that
demographic, we tend to ignore
women and girls.
"In 2010, the largest percentage
of new infections among people in
the U.S. were between the ages of
25 and 34. The next group most
impacted were those between 13
and 24 years of age at 26 percent.
That's one-fourth of all new infec-
tions. What's more, an alarming 75
percent of infected women contract
HIV/AIDS through heterosexual
contact. Clearly our work is not
done."
Efforts by groups like the Sisters
Organizing to Survive [SOS] project
have made major strides in getting
women tested in the State of Flor-
ida. The initiative began in 2008
and since 2010, they have tested
over 100,000 Black women every
year.
"It's all about women taking
control over their lives," McKinley-
Beach added. "Friends persuade
other friends to get tested, and so-
rorities and churches lead testing
drives. The bottom line is if a wom-

an or girl is sexually active, they are
at risk of becoming HIV-positive."
Mills says women must insist
that their partners wear a condom
and that they both know their HIV
status.
"Even if a woman tests positive,
she can still maintain a healthy im-
mune system with bio-medical in-
tervention and keep her viral load
at undetectable lessening the
likelihood of transmitting the infec-
tion to her partner," Mills empha-
sized. "In the early 90s, over 100
babies were born HIV-positive in
Miami-Dade County. Last year just
one child was born HIV-positive in
the County. We know we can stop
transmission from mother to baby
but the key is getting women into
prenatal care as soon as they real-
ize they're pregnant. Sadly, .many
Black women don't get that care."
As for the health conference,
Mills notes there will be concur-
rent sessions focusing on various
forms of cancer, HPV, protocol for
mammograms and pap smears,
hands-on training for breast exams
and workshops on nutrition and
exercise. Free breakfast and lunch
will also be provided. In addition,
the Florida Department of Health
will provide free testing for syphilis,
gonorrhea and chlamydia.
The Healthy Women 2020 Con-
ference, co-hosted by Empower
"U", Inc., the Florida Department
of Health, AIDS Healthcare Foun-
dation, Miami-Dade County Health
Department is from 8 a.m. to 5p.m.
Call (786) 318-2337for more infor-
mation or to register.

U.S. increases war efforts in Africa

AFRICA
continued from 1A

a day after saying they had killed
Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, the com-
mander of al Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb's Mali wing.
French, U.S. and Malian officials
have not confirmed the deaths of
Belmokhtar or Zeid, citing a lack
of definitive information from the
field. But they say the new ar-
rangement with the U.S. has led
in recent days to a raised tempo
in strikes against al Qaeda-linked
groups and their allies some time
after the offensive began in Janu-
ary. That is a shift for the U.S.,

which initially limited intelligence
sharing that could pinpoint targets
for French strikes.
The elite Chadian unit fighting
in Mali was trained by U.S. special
operations forces, U.S. officials
said this weekend.
The unarmed U.S. drones played
a key role in the recent offensive in
which French and Chadian forces
succeeded in homing in on and
ambushing a group of militants in
the Adrar Tigharghar mountains
of northern Mali, near the border
with Algeria, French officials said.
The U.S. decision to authorize
the Pentagon and U.S. spy agen-
cies to feed detailed targeting in-

formation directly to French forces
came after a lengthy U.S. admin-
istration debate over how directly
to aid French strikes, according to
U.S., French and other Western
officials.
The arrangement represents a
test of President Barack Obama's
new strategy for dealing with the
growing terrorist threat in Afri-
ca. Instead of sending American
ground troops and armed drones
to take direct action, the U.S.
where possible will try to provide
logistical, technical and intelli-
gence support to enable local and
regional partners to pull the trig-
ger, officials say.

up five House and two Senate
seats, ending the GOP super-ma-
jority.
That, plus the ascension of
Weatherford and Gaetz, has re-
sulted in a far less partisan at-
mosphere. All sides are regularly
talking, sometimes over lunch, in
advance of the legislative session.
But even given these smaller
successes, Thurston and Smith,
friends since 1998 when Smith
defeated Thurston for a House
seat, have an uphill battle. Demo-
crats are outnumbered by Repub-
licans 76-to-44 in the House and
26-to-14 in the Senate. So Re-
publicans will still largely be able
to pass major bills and a budget
that Democrats may object to.

Was Houston in danger?

WHITNEY
continued from 1A

next sends the person a con-
fidentiality agreement along
with a sum of money (the
amount is blacked out in FBI
documents) and the case
was closed soon after.
The fan mail, from a male
writer whose name is not
included but is postmarked
from Vermont. professes pro-
found adoration for the sing-
er. A review of one, however,
caught the eve of the FBI as
the agency determined the
writer might hurt someone
with some crazy idea and not
realize how stupid an idea it
was until after it was done.'
Among the contents, the
fan wrote: Mliss Whitney.
you are just so pretty and so
beautiful. I just cannot stop
thinking about you. Many
times when I think about
you I will start to shake.....
I really and truly am in love
with you."
And in another letter:
"Over the past 17 months.
I have sent .. 66 letters
to Miss Whitney. ... I have
been to 9 of Miss Whitne 's
concerts and 1 have tried to
give her flowers twice at the
concerts. ... When I first fell
m love with Miss Whitney
Houston I tried to ignore
what I felt towards her. After
5 months I had to do some-
thing so I started writing let-
ters. I have tried to stop writ-
ing the letters and to give up
twice but after a few weeks
I had to start wriung again.
SThe writer goes on to say
that getting no response
from Houston %was frustrat-
ing. "I have gotten mad at
her a few times ... it scares
me that I might come up
with some crazy or stupid or
really\ dumb idea that might
be as bad or even worse than
that.. I might hurt someone
with some crazy idea.

WHITNEY HOUSTON
Later, he wrote: 'Miss
Whitney. why can t you re-
spond to my 70 plus letters?
.. You probably think Im
crazy. Well. (maybe) I am. I
just can't give up. I have to
keep trying. I really am in
love with you."
The FBI marked one 1988
letter as possible "extortion'
as the letter included a line
about the writer making his
love known for Houston pub-
licl in the National EnqLur-
er or on The Phil Donahue
Show. According to the FBI
report, agents interviewed
the writer at his small, clut-
tered one-room apartment
and determined: "He believed
this crazy idea would have
hurt Houston s reputation
so he did not follow through
on it." Based on those facts.
and that hie didn't intend to
physically harm Houston.
the FBI concluded that it did
not constitute a violation of
federal law.
And in one other case,
investigators flew to Brus-
sels to track down a Dutch
fan who claimed to have
sent tapes to Houston. He
accused her of performing
his music. In 1999, the FBI
wTOte that the fan pledged
there would be no further
attempts on his part to com-
municate in any way with
Houston.

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hold concealed weapon
DENVER (AP) A federal ap- he was not a Colorado resident
peals court has ruled that per- violated his Second Amendment
mits allowing people to carry rights to bear firearms.
concealed weapons are not pro- In its ruling, the three-judge
tected by the Second Amend- panel cited a Supreme Court
ment. ruling that "the right of the
The ruling by the United people to keep and bear arms
States Court of Appeals for is not infringed by laws prohib-
the 10th Circuit was issued iting the carrying of concealed
Last Friday in a case involving weapons."
a Washington State resident, "In light of our nation's exten-
Gray Peterson. sive practice of restricting citi-
A federal judge in 2011 tossed zen's freedom to carry firearms
out Mr. Peterson's lawsuit filed in a concealed manner, we hold
against Denver and Colorado's that this activity does not fall
Department of Public Safety. He within the scope of the Second
claimed that being denied a con- Amendment's protections," the
cealed-weapons permit because judges ruled.

Child's HIV cure won't mean

new treatments immediately

Urban League gears up for prime time

By Arlene Satchell

The Urban League of Broward
County is gearing up for prime
time.
For the 38-year old Fort Lau-
derdale-based nonprofit, the
'majors' is the national spotlight
and exposure hosting the an-
nual conference.of its parent or-
ganization in July 2015.
. Bringing the National Urban
League Conference to Fort Lau-
derdale was no minor feat, and
individuals whose efforts were
commended as instrumental in
making it happen say strategy
and relationship-building were
key tools in their arsenal.
Chief among them is Ger-
maine Smith-Baugh, 40, presi-
dent and CEO of the Broward
affiliate of the 102-year old New
York-based civil rights organiza-
tion.
"Leaders have a healthy disre-.
gard for the impossible," Smith-
Baugh said in a recent Sun Sen-

tinel interview.
Although the goal of hosting
the National Urban League con-
ference may have at first seemed
impossible, Smith-Baugh's rep-
utation for delivering results
helped make a difference.
She credits key relationship-
building with community, busi-
ness and tourism leaders as be-
ing instrumental in crafting a
strategy to put the local affiliate
in a position to bid and win the
job to host the national event
that attracts thought leaders,
top business minds and celebri-
ties from around the world.
That strategy, Smith-Baugh
said, has involved making
board appointments that mirror
the board of the national orga-
nization, and showcasing the
nonprofit's ability to make con-
tacts and raise funds within the
South Florida community.
In announcing its decision
to bring the conference to Fort
Lauderdale in 2015,, National

Urban League President and
CEO Marc Morial acknowledged
that under Smith-Baugh's lead-
ership the affiliate had become
"one of the community's leading
civic and social services orga-
nizations, and one of the most
dynamic community outreach
networks in the nation."
Throughout her nearly seven
years at the helm of the orga-
nization, Smith-Baugh has em-
braced several impossible tasks
head on.
Most recently that has includ-
ed major fundraising to build a
$9 million Community Empow-
erment Center on Northwest
27th Avenue, near the historic
Sistrunk Boulevard corridor.
The center opened in April 2012
after a decade of planning.
"I tend to be laser-focused
about what I think is impor-
tant," Smith-Baugh said.
Another key figure instrumen-
tal in helping Fort Lauderdale
land the convention is Albert

Tucker, vice president of mul-
ticultural business develop-
ment for Greater Fort Lauder-
dale Convention and Visitor's
Bureau, who worked with both
the local and national leagues
to showcase the area as a viable
candidate for the event.
"We invested in the relation-
ship" Tucker said of the CVB's
role in helping to bring the con-
ference to town. That invest-
ment has included co-hosting
receptions with Smith-Baugh to
welcome Urban League CEOs in
town for the mid-winter confer-
ence, held here for about a de-
cade.
'He's a bridge-builder," said
Anthony Jackson, president
and CEO of Marome Agency
in Fort Lauderdale, who has
worked with Tucker on other
high-profile black conferences
.such as the 100 Black Men of
America, which brought its na-
tional meeting to Hollywood in
2010.

Army program needs more direction
By Tom Vanden Brook Services Committee. with our budget and economy
"I would like to know whether Hunter asked McHugh for that the money might not bet-
washington The Army the Army is considering expan- more details on how the Army ter be put to uise in operational
needs to justify the continua- sion of the Human Terrain Sys- determines the program's effec- capability that we're cutting,"
tion of a $250million program, tem, as well as any justification tiveness. he said.
to send social scientists to the for continuing the program in The Human Terrain teams A USA TODAY investigation,
battlefield because of problems light of severe and detrimental take funding away from more based on internal Army docu-
outlined in a report by USA TO- cuts to military operations," urgent needs such as paying ments and interviews with so-
DAY, a congressman said in a Hunter said in the letter, for Marine training and ships, cial scientists involved in the
letter to Army Secretary John Problems come to light with Hunter said. The Pentagon, program, found' that there
McHugh last Tuesday. programs such as Human Ter- dealing with budget cuts sched- were substantiated instances
The Pentagon has lost the rain teams, he said, only when uled for March 1, plans to cut of sexual harassment and rac-
ability to objectively assess the Congress or the media ask funding for training except for ism and potential fraud in filing
value of Human Terrain System probing questions. Military of- troops headed to combat. time sheets. Some command-
teams and other programs, said ficials lose objectivity when "Even if it worked perfectly, ers questioned the value of the
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., they've been involved with pro- and commanders said it was teams'' reports, according to
a member of the House Armed grams for years, Hunter said. saving lives, we're at a time now Army documents.

Palm Beach activist fighting bribe allegations

Freeman says he's used to legal battles ,| ...-

By Ben Wolford

In 2005, a grand jury refused
to indict a white police officer
for killing a Black teen in Delray
Beach. Like a local Al Sharpton,
Clarence Eugene "Shahid" Free-
man was there to rail against the
decision.
"The Black man can't get jus-
tice in Palm Beach County," he
said outside the courtroom.
Freeman, who says fighting in-
justice is his life's work, is now
fending charges he tried to black-
mail Palm Beach County schools
Superintendent Wayne Gent for
nearly $1 million. Investigators
say Gent wore a wire and taped
Freeman demanding the money
in exchange for keeping sexual
misconduct allegations silent.
Interviews and public records
draw two starkly different im-
ages of Freeman. Since he was
22 and convicted of robbery,
Freeman has straddled the gulf
between criminal defendant and
moral watchdog. For each person
claiming to have fallen victim to
Freeman, a supporter is waiting
to extol his work in crime pre-
vention and immigrant rights.
In an interview, Freeman
called the extortion charges
"monkey business."
"Let me put it this way," said
state Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Del-
ray Beach, who represented
Freeman in a separate 2009
case. "The last time I saw him
that sticks in my head, he was

delivering turkeys to families."
The 2005 shooting of Jer-
rod Miller, 16, was a moment of
prominence for Freeman, who
was working as an NAACP field
representative at the time. Miller
had been driving a Cadillac dan-
gerously outside a school dance,
and the officer said he was pro-
tecting bystanders.
"He came on board and he
stood with us," said Phyllis Mill-
er, 68, the boy's grandmother.
Yet Freeman has a long history
of trial and conviction.
In 1974, he was convicted of
robbery and sentenced to 75
years at.Union Correctional In-
stitution, though he claims co-
workers at a Red Lobster he was
managing set him up.
Freeman says he served only
four years and 10 months of his
term.
He moved to Palm Beach
County and worked as a jani-
tor at a local news station and
as a clerk at an electric com-
pany before helping to start a
tire company, he said. In 1990,
he pleaded guilty to hitting his
girlfriend's young daughter and
was sentenced to nine months of
probation. He maintains his in-
nocence in that case.
"I got into community activ-
ism because of my own personal
experience with injustice," Free-
man said.
People began to come to him
with their legal woes.
The NAACP recruited him as

Clarence Shahid Freeman, a f
South Palm Beach County.
a local activist. He became a
leader of the county's Democrat-
ic Party. He founded a reading
program called DOT's Success
Academy, which attracted sup-
port from U.S. Rep. Alcee Hast-
ings and a $20,000 grant from
Riviera Beach council members.
In 2009 he spoke out for a
group of Black cheerleaders
who claimed they were unjustly
rejected from the high school
squad.
He also began helping minori-
ties and immigrants in Palm
Beach County courts, Freeman
said. He arranged meetings with
judges to seek smaller sentenc-
es.
But his legal advocacy again

-Photo by Matt Dean
former NAACP Vice President of

made him a target for investiga-
tors. Last year two South Florida
immigration attorneys filed a
complaint to the Florida Bar al-
leging Freeman was practicing
without a license and defraud-
ing immigrants. The Palm Beach
County Sheriffs Office said its
fraud investigation is ongoing.
The Rincon family of West
Palm Beach is one of the immi-
grant families who say Freeman
took their money but never pro-
vided any legal services.
"We knew he was a criminal,
but we didn't think he was ac-
tually going to take it this far,"
said one of the family members,
Melissa Rincon, 23, in response
to the new extortion charges.

By Liz Szabo

More than 300,000 babies
a year worldwide are born in-
fected with HIV, the virus that
causes AIDS.
As of this week, doctors ap-
pear to have cured exactly one.
And while the Mississippi
child's story has generated ex-
citement in the medical com-
munity, researchers also note
that it will likely take years be-
fore they're able to extend that
success to a broader commu-
nity of patients, if ever.
"This is a really groundbreak-
ing report," says Diane Havlir, a
professor and AIDS researcher
at the University of California-
San Francisco, who attended a
presentation of the new study
Monday at an Atlanta medical
conference.
"This tells us a cure is possi-
ble," says Havlir, who wasn't in-
volved in the new study, which
reported on a 21/2-year-old girl
who was infected with HIV at
birth but apparently cured after
18 months of triple-drug thera-
py. "That is thrilling news."
Doctors credit the 6hild's cure
to early treatment; her physi-
cians began treatment soon af-
ter delivery, which is the stan-
dard of care for the child of an
untreated, HIV-positive mother.
Most adults can't benefit
from such early therapy, be-
cause they typically don't even
learn that they're infected for
months or years, says Rana
Chakraborty, an associate pro-
fessor of pediatrics at Emory
University School of Medicine.
The only adult to have been
definitively cured of HIV had
a unique situation: He had a
bone-marrow transplant to
treat his leukemia from a donor
with a genetic mutation that
provided protection from HIV. -
Scientists will first have to
learn what exactly allowed the

child to be cured before they
can apply that knowledge to de-
veloping vaccines or new drugs,
he says.
And Havlir notes-that doctors
are unlikely to make any chang-
es to children's care before they
can verify the study's results.
She notes that, in developed
countries, doctors focus far
more on prevention than treat-
ment. Giving women anti-HIV
therapy while pregnant reduc-
es the risk of mother-to-child
transmission by 98%.
But if the results hold up and
doctors can identify the best
medications, they could start
anti-AIDS therapy on high-risk
newborns even before getting
results of their HIV tests, Havlir
says.
That could be important in
developing countries, where
many women like the moth-
er of this Mississippi child -
don't get recommended care.
The girl's mother had no pre-
natal care, let alone anti-HIV
therapy, before delivery. Then,
when. the girl was 18 months
old, the mother stopped bring-
ing her to the doctor, which
left the child with no anti-HIV
treatment for five months.
While the child's story has
been hailed as a victory for
science, Chakraborty -ays the
case also illustrates the single
greatest challenge in treating
AIDS; actually getting care to
patients.
Delivering on the promise of
scientific breakthroughs has
been a challenge not just in
developing countries of Africa,
but in the USA.
Only 28% of people of the 1.2
million HIV-positive Americans
have been diagnosed and treat-
ed successfully so that their
levels of virus are undetectable,
according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion.

Obama's Oscar backlash

TARGET
continued from 1A

talk show host, said on
Leno's The Tonight Sho'.'
Really, Bill? If that
was the worst pro-
paganda you've ever
seen, then you must
not have been pa\-
ing attention when
wacko political con-
mentator Dick Mor-
ris came on your
show and predicted
that Republican
Mitt Romney would
win last year's presi-
dential election in a
landslide. You could not i
been watching your patrol
network when Karl Rove
his election night meltd(
Those were the two big
American propaganda
ments that I've ever
seen.
While there can be
legitimate debate be-
tween left and right
over what amounts
to propaganda, it is
a stretch to accuse
Michelle Obama of
such excess for sim-
ply announcing the
award. That is un- L
less you are an .un-
bridled hater of the
first family.
I understand why the n
lahs and film critics in
criticized the decision to 1
the first lady hand out
award. That Oscar wen

Argo, a film about the rescue
of six American diplomats
from Iran following the 1979
Ja', takeover of the U.S. Embassy
In Tehran. But O'Reilly's ob-
jection smacks of the kind of

Si ple once hurled at
Rachel Jackson.
Even more mind-
less is what Rush
SLimbaugh, the con-
servative talk radio
host, said about
Michelle Obama's
Academy Awards
appearance.
O'REILLY Because the mov-
ie Lincoln, which
have Limbaugh calls Barack
n TV Obama's "semiautobiogra-
had phy," didn't win best picture,
own. Limbaugh said Oscar produc-
Ygest ers gave the president's wife
mo- a role in the show- which
was watched by
40.3 million Ameri-
cans. The film is
S about the efforts of
.. President Abraham
'., Lincoln to end slav-
ery. By claiming the
S movie is Obama's
story, Limbaugh ex-
Sposes again his big-
otry By attacking
the first lady's ap-
.IMBAUGH
IMAUGH pearance on Acad-
emy Awards broad-

nul-
Iran
have
the
t to

cast, he resurrects the kind of
bigotry that Rachel Jackson
was made to endure and
Michelle Obama shouldn't be
made to suffer these many
years later.

I

6A THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

Airport security guards arrest

two identity fraud suspects

By Linda Trischitta

FORT LAUDERDALE Two
Miami men accused of identity
fraud unwittingly drew the at-
tention of Transportation Secu-
rity Administration officers while
traveling in the middle of the
night through Fort Lauderdale-
Hollywood International Airport.
The TSA says the men were
observed by officers trained to
spot behaviors that indicate
a fear of discovery or that may
pose a risk to security, behaviors
that increase when one is trying
to suppress high levels of stress.
"It was a great catch by our be-
havioral detection officers," said
Tim Lewis, federal security di-
rector for Fort Lauderdale-Holly-
wood and Key West international
airports. "We can't tell you the
specific behaviors they were ex-
hibiting. The important thing is
we go by behaviors, not on ap-
pearance."
Among the confiscated be-
longings: Nine Visa debit cards
in different names and two en-
velopes that held the names,
dates of birth and Social Secu-
rity numbers of several hun-

Phillip Collins and Go
dred people and were carried
by Godfrey Antoine Teekah,
25, a Broward Sheriffs Office
complaint affidavit states.
Phillip Collins, 26, was found
to have one Visa debit card in
the name of another person,
BSO said.
The men did not make their
flight to Baltimore. They were
arrested Feb. 21 and charged
with one count each of fraudu-
lent use of personal identifica-
tion information.
Teekah was released from

Broward County jail on a
$7,500 bond, as was Collins,
who was declared indigent.
According to the arresting
deputy's report, Teekah said
he prepared taxes.
Lewis said Collins and Teekah
didn't get far in the airport se-
curity process before they were
noticed.
"They probably entered the
line about five o'clock in the
morning," Lewis said. "They
were in the queue to have their
tickets checked at the travel

document checker when they
first exhibited the behavior."
Once criminal activity is sus-
pected, Lewis said, the Sheriffs
Office takes over investigations.
A Federal Trade Commission
report released this week said
South Florida led the country's
largest metropolitan areas for
identity theft complaints for the
third year in a row. There were
34,914 complaints in 2012,
more than double the number
of complaints filed in 2011.
TSA behavior' detection offi-
cers have found possible iden-
tity fraudsters at the airport
"at least two times in the last
couple of months," Lewis said
about travelers with multiple
identification or credit cards in
others' names.
"They'll be nervous about
taking it through the check-
point, and it ends up being dis-
covered through the behavior,"
Lewis said.
Like a liar who involuntari-
ly covers his or her mouth,
Lewis said, "It's another great
tool, because they don't know
they're exhibiting the behav-
ior."

Thives want your Social Security number

By Donna Gehrke-White

With Florida now account-
ing for a fifth of the nation's
tax-related identity thefts,
South Floridians have to
guard their Social Security
numbers from outsiders -
even from employees at med-
ical offices who may sell.the
information, federal officials
said Wednesday evening at
a town hall meeting in Pem-
broke Pines.
Most identity theft now
stems from insiders stealing
information at workplaces
instead of thieves snatch-
ing purses or Dumpster div-
ing, said Cindy Liebes, head
of the Southeast Regional
Office of the Federal Trade
Commission. That means
consumers have to be extra
vigilant in giving out their
Social Security numbers -
even to legitimate places of
business, she said.
Some unscrupulous em-
ployees may ask for the So-
cial Security numbers to
then sell the information.
Identity theft has switched
from criminals stealing cred-
it cards to buy merchandise
to fraudsters paying for So-
cial Security numbers so
they can file federal tax re-
turns for hefty refunds, Li-
ebes added.
"Thieves are stealing hun-
dreds of millions of dollars in

refunds. I was stunned," said
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasser-
man Schultz, D-Weston, who
helped conduct the town hall
meeting Wednesday evening
with the FTC and the Inter-
nal Revenue Service at the
Southwest Regional Library.
There was another town
hall meeting in Boca Raton
to alert South Floridians to.
guard their identity.
Both have been national
leaders in proposing legisla-
tion to combat identity theft.
One reason is that it hits
close to home, Wasserman-
Schultz said.
"Our state alone has about
a fifth of the nation's victims
who couldn't immediately file
their taxes last year because
a crook beat them to it," she
said. In fact, South Florida
has the worst identity theft
of the nation's largest metro
areas, the FTC has found.
Last week, Wasserman
Schultz proposed a biparti-
san bill that would increase
the penalties of those caught
filing fraudulent tax returns
using stolen identities.
.Meanwhile, Nelson said
Wednesday that he plans
to re-introduce a bill that
would make it a felony, pun-
ishable by up to five,years in
prison, to use someone else's
Social Security or taxpayer
identification number to file
a fraudulent tax return. He

S2 -
L

South Florida has the worst identity theft of the
nation's largest metro areas.
would also include in the bill Nelson wants to cut that in
a new provision that would half so victims can get re-
speed up tax refunds to vic- funds in 90 days or less.
times of identity theft. "ID thieves are costing
Right now, the IRS said it hard-working taxpayers a lot
takes victims an average of of time and money," the sen-
180 days to get their refund. ator said in a written state-
ri nten "We'rea tr inc ton t a

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN

stop to that."
Tens of thousands of peo-
ple in Broward, Palm Beach
and Miami-Dade counties
couldn't file their taxes last
year because thieves had
already filed in their name
first.
So far, the U.S. Attorney's
Office in South Florida has
charged more than 100 peo-
ple with filing fraudulent fed-
eral tax returns that resulted
in the Internal Revenue Ser-
vice sending out about $92
million in refund checks or
debit cards.

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY

Lauderdale Lakes man fights off gunman with glass cleaner
An armed robber was unable to make a clean getaway after his victim at-
tacked him with a Windex-like substance. Last Tuesday Jacques Baillargeon, 66,
saw a gunman enter his Lauderdale Lakes home, reports WSVNI, and sprayed
glass cleaner in the intruder's face.
The surprised intruder, later identified as Nathaniel Lee Smith, 29, dropped his
crowbar, ran home, and called 911 to report that his crowbar and black skully
cap had been stolen, according to released transcripts. Srnith later confessed to
breaking into the Baillargeon's home as well as another residence earlier in the
week. investigators believe he had tried to do a little damage control tby claiming
that his crowbar was stolen in order to eiplaii why his prints were all over it.

Miami Beach man sentenced 15 years for human trafficking
A Miami Beach man, who allegedly forced women in South Florida and Ne-
vada into prostitution, will serve 15 years for beating and strangling one jof hi
victims. Last Tuesday a judge sentenced Robert Burton, 34, on trial for an as-
sault of a 31-year-old woman and for abducting their seven-year-old son in 2011.
When police conducted a traffic stop with Burton and asked about twoo women
in his car, prosecutors say the seven-year-old answered. "Those are my daddy's
hoes." Burton reportedly fathered children with three of the .si,. women, whom
he reportedly forced to solicit sex at the Seminole Hard Rord Hotel S Casino in
Hollywood and the Delano hotel in Miami Beach. Burton is the fii -t conviction for
the Miami-Dade Human Trafficling Unit.

Rapper,Young Scrilla, injured in Overtown drive-by
A drive-by shooting in Overtown Saturday night interrupted 3 music video
shoot and sent one aspiring rapper to the hospital. Andre Scott. 29, ho per-
forms under the name Young Scrilla, was taken to Pyder Trauma Center. Report-
edly the drive-by occurred at 19th Street between NW 2nd and 3,rd Avenues at
around 7 p.m. In August,Young Scrilla hosted Rick Ross's official release party at
the King of Diamonds strip club Months later Ross was shot in a drive-y shooting
in Fort Lauderdale. Young Scrilla's mother told Local 10 that she believes the two
drive-bys are related, adding 'some get jealous' There were two other victims,
still unidentified, injured in the drive-by.

100 mile police chase ends with arrest of Samal Hammond
A police chase on Interstate-95 that spanned four counties, including Broward
and Palm Beach, reportedly began with an altercation between a man and a
woman and shots being fired at a sergeant, and ended with the suspect driver
singing as he was arrested, authorities said last Saturday. The 85-mile police
pursuit began between the Ives Dairy Road and Miami Gardens Drive exits of
1-95 in Miami-Dade County, and ended just south of Kanner Highway in Mar-
tin County. Samal Hammond, 36, was stopped using spile sticks that deflated
his van's tires. Hammond was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and
providing false information for giving authorities 3 bogus name. As of late last
Saturday, he remained in Martin County Jail. Additional charges were ll'ely once
he's returned to Miami-Dade County.

Zimmerman stuns

court in Martin case

Waives right to 'stand
your ground' hearing

By Seni Tienabeso & Matt Gutman

George Zimmerman's attorneys.
stunned court observers last Tues-
day when they waived their client's
right to a "Stand Your Ground"
hearing slated for April that might
have led to a dismissal of the
charges in the shooting death of
unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin
a year ago. However, the defense
lawyers didn't say whether they
would waive the immunity hearing
outright. They left open the possi-
bility for that hearing to be rolled
into Zimmerman's second degree
murder trial. Zimmerman, a for-
mer neighborhood watch captain
in his Florida subdivision, shot
and killed the teen, who was visit-
ing a house in the area. The move
allows the defense more time to
prepare for the trial this summer,
but also raises the stakes.
In recent weeks, the Zimmer-
man defense has suffered several
legal setbacks. Judge Debra Nel-
son has ruled in favor of the state
that Zimmerman's bail conditions
should not be loosened, and that

Trayvon Martin family attorney
Benjamin Crump was not required
to sit for a deposition about his
interactions with the state's most
important witness, a young woman
who was the last known person to
speak with Trayvon Martin before
his death on February 26 2012. It
was the defense's legal maneuver-
ing which put Judge Nelson on the
bench in this murder trial. Last
summer Zimmerman's team suc-
cessfully argued that the previous
judge, Kenneth Lester, was unfit to
preside over the trial after a caus-
tic bail ruling where he blasted
Zimmerman for misleading the
court about his financial situation.
Zimmerman contends that he
shot and killed the 17-year-old
Martin after the teen confronted
him as he walked to his father's
girlfriend's house. Were Judge Nel-
son to have accepted his account
under Stand Your Ground, all
criminal proceedings would have
immediately stopped, and Zim-
merman would have walked free.
But another unfavorable ruling
by Nelson could have been inter-
preted by jurors as a sign of guilt.
Waiving the hearing could also
prevent the prosecution from pick-
ing apart Zimmerman's testimony.

Court considering Fla.
The Associated Press

STARKE, Fla. The state is
asking a U.S. Supreme Court
justice to lift a stay of execu-
tion obtained by a South Flor-
ida drug trafficker who was
convicted of killing a state
trooper with a pipe bomb 21
years ago.
Paul Augustus Howell was
set for execution Tuesday
at Florida State Prison near
Starke, but the Atlanta-based
11th U.S. District of Appeal on

Jackson Jr. writing memoir to 'clear up his legacy'
By Cheryl K. Chumley .;,. : stuffed elk heads and a Rolex
S...... watch. In mid-2012, Mr. Jack-
Former Rep. Jesse Jackson son took a leave of absence
Jr., who pleaded guilty to mis- -' from his House office, in part
using $750,000 in campaign to obtain treatment for a bipo-
funds and is facing a 46- to 57- .. lar disorder, before resigning in
year prison term, is now writ- 'November.
ing a book about his life in or- Jackson's wife, Sandi, an ex-
der to clarify his legacy. alderman in Chicago, faces jail
"He has nothing else to do time, too. She pleaded guilty
right now," one source, who's to charges stemming from fil-
seen draft pages of the memoir, ing false tax returns on Feb.
told the Chicago Tribune. He's 20 and faces up to two years
trying to "clear up his legacy in jail. Officially, Mr. Jackson
He's desperately trying to pleaded guilty to conspiracy to
change the narrative of his life commit wire and mail fraud,
story." REP JESSE JACKSON JR and making false statements,
Jackson will be sentenced J stemming from his misuse of
June 28. He pleaded guilty cash for the likes of celebrity campaign dollars, the Chicago
Feb. 20 to spending campaign memorabilia, furs, a cruise, Tribune reported.

I

, I

7A THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY

Miami's first Black cops remember "joy and pain"

Pinder leads colleagues in exposing youth to a proud legacy

By D. Kevin McNeir
kmcneir@miamitimesonline.com

Miami's getaway resorts and
pristine beaches may be one of
the top .choices for tourists to-
day, but in years past, segrega-
tion kept both Black visitors and
Black Miamians locked out. In
fact, racial segregation, formerly
the law of the land, extended to
every facet of life. As the Black
population surged in the 1940s,
religious and community lead-
ers demanded police presence
and protection in Miami's two
overcrowded Black communities
of Liberty City and Overtown.
In 1944, the first Black patrol-
men were sworn in as "emergen-
cy policemen" and assigned to
what was then referred to as the
Central Negro District. In 1950,
the Negro Police Precinct and
Courthouse was established in
Overtown, operating as a sepa-
rate station house and munici-
pal court for Blacks.
It remained in operation until
1963 but still stands now as
an historical monument and ed-
ucation museum where all can
learn about the struggles and
triumphs of Miami's "first Negro
policemen."
Last week, the City of Miami
Negro/Black Police Officers
Precinct and Museum [480 NW
11th Street], under the direc-
tion of newly-elected Museum
president, Dr. Thomas K. Pin-
der, Ph.D., held an open house

for the community. He says this
is "just the beginning of pro-
grams and special events that
will share this important piece
of history with the youth of to-
day and tomorrow."
"After our members decided
that we needed to operate sepa-
rately from the Black Officers
Retired Association, I was cho-
sen to oversee the Museum," he
said. "What's most important is
that our children know about
this place and the significant
role that Black officers played
when segregation was still oper-
ating in Miami and throughout
the U.S. The more we under-
stand our history and our strug-
gles, the better we can prepare
and empower our children for
the future." ,

MEMORIES FROM
THE PIONEERS
Clarence Dickson, 78, was
the first Black police chief for
the City of Miami and was first
hired in 1944. He says prior
to the precinct being built for
Blacks, they were forced to meet
in places ranging from an apart-
ment room to a dentist's office.
"We weren't allowed to meet
with the rest of the police in
their downtown headquarters,"
he said. "But thanks to contin-
ued pressure from the Black
community, we finally got a
place of our own."
Dickson says there were about
40 policemen when the doors of

the Black precinct first opened.
He was also one of the first men
allowed to attend the Police
Academy and to sit with white
officers to take examinations for
promotion. He would rise up the
ranks and retire after 30 years
of service. He adds that 40 were
in his class when it began in
1960 only 13 finished.
"I failed the test twice and saw
others who were much smarter
than me bomb out," he said.
"You could only take the test
three times. I figured I wouldn't
pass. But after one of my fellow
officers told me that everyone
was depending on me to suc-
ceed, I buckled down failure
was no longer an option."
Other officers that shared
their compelling stories during
the program included: Jesse
Hill, 84, retired sergeant, who
was sent to the precinct in the
early 1950s and was one of the
first Black detectives; James
'Stubbs, 78, who served in the
armed forces before joining the
police department; Archie McK-
ay, 87, retired lieutenant, who
has the distinction of being the
oldest living Black police officer
and recalls "being called nigger
as frequently as one runs water
for drinking"; Pinder, Museum
president and retired sergeant;
Otis Davis, retired lieutenant;
Davie Madison, retired captain;
and Officer Leroy Smith.
For more information or for a
tour call 305-329-2513.

-Photo courtesy BPPCM
GREAT MOMENTS IN MIAMI'S BLACK HISTORY: Photos like those shown above capture the
significant efforts of Miami's first Black police officers. Their first headquarters, the Precinct and
Courthouse opened May, 22, 1950.

Breakthrough case shows baby cured after being born HIV-positive

CURE
continued from 1A

could spur widespread use of
such an aggressive regimen in
babies born with HIV, nearly
all of them in low- and middle-
income countries.

EARLY TREATMENT
World Health Organization
[WHO] guidelines now call for
treating infants born to an
HIV-infected mother with a
modest daily dose of antiretro-
viral treatment for four to six
weeks or until testing deter-
mines the baby's own HIV sta-
tus. If the baby tests positive,
a more aggressive treatment is
begun.
In this case, "the child got
therapy and then went off
therapy, and now there's no
detectable virus," said Debo-
rah Persaud, a pediatrician
and AIDS researcher at Johns
Hopkins Children's Center.
in Baltimore and lead author
of a study reporting the cure.
"That's really unheard of. If
people go off therapy, most of
them rebound ... within a few
weeks."
She described the findings

at a news conference Sunday
in advance of their presenta-
tion last Monday at the annual
Conference on Retroviruses
and Opportunistic Infections
in Atlanta.
The chance an infected preg-
nant woman will transmit the
virus to her baby during ges-
tation, birth or breast-feeding
ranges from 15 percent to 45
percent, according to WHO.
But treatment with antiretro-
viral therapy during pregnan-
cy and especially around the
time of birth cuts the risk of
mother-to-child transmission
to below 2 percent.

NEWBORN. CASES DOWN
Still, estimates are that be-
tween 300,000 and 400,000
infants are born globally each
year with the infection, about
90 percent of them in re-
source-poor countries in sub-
Saharan Africa.
In the U.S., high compliance
with prenatal care and rou-
tine HIV testing during preg-
nancy has all but eliminated
HIV-positive newborns. From
a peak of 1,650 cases in 1991,
the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention says

the number is now down to
fewer than 200 a year. In 2010,
the number was 174. One of
them, born in a rural Missis-
sippi hospital that fall, is now
the first case of a child consid-
ered cured of the disease;
The baby was born to a
mother who hadn't had pre-
natal care and didn't know her
HIV status. A rapid HIV test
after the birth revealed that
she was infected, prompting
doctors to transfer the baby
to University of Mississippi
Medical Center more than 100
miles away.
There, Hannah Gay, a pedia-
trician and infectious-disease
expert, ordered an HIV test for
the infant. She didn't wait for
the result. Figuring this was
an especially high-risk case,
Gay started the baby on three
standard antiretroviral drugs
at higher, treatment-level dos-
es. A few. days later, the test
came back positive, she said,
and she kept the infant on the
treatment-level doses. Over
the next few weeks, the baby's
viral levels gradually declined,
and by day 29, HIV couldn't be
detected with standard test-
ing. That remained the case

Florida may lose $276M in sequester

Aircraft, education
By Richard Burnett

Florida would lose at least
$276 million in the first year
alone from the so-called "seques-
ter" deficit-reduction spending
cuts, a White House report said
last Sunday, listing affected pro-
grams such as Head Start, mili-
tary bases, vaccines for children
and food for the elderly.
The report showed how far-
reaching it said the cuts in
government services would be if
they were allowed to take effect
on March 1. It does not detail
how the State's private defense
contractors would be affected

services hit hardest
by Pentagon cuts, nor how
hospitals, doctors and medical
researchers would be affected by
cuts in health-care funding.
At the top was a cut of $135
million from aircraft depot -
maintenance work in Jackson-
ville. Next: $54.5 million from
early-education services, reach-
ing 95,000 fewer students, 130
fewer schools and putting 750
teacher jobs at risk.
Other possible reductions
included $31.1 million from edu-
cation for children with disabili-
ties; $23 million from Air Force
base operations; $5.2 million
from clean-water, air quality,

TAMPA Charlie Crist, the for-
mer "Ronald Reagan Republican"
who now looks like the Demo-
cratic frontrunner for governor in
2014, says he's pretty much the
same guy he always was.
"I know what Floridians care
about," he said during a forum
on leadership at the University of
Tampa. "People generally are not
hard right. Nor are they hard left.
They just want to get the right
thing done for most people. They
want good education. They want
to be able to start a business in

an economy. They want appropri-
ate regulation, but not too much.
They want the kind of government
that stays out of your hair, thank
you very much, and lets you be
successful and doesn't burden
you too much but dbes have ap-
propriate regulation to make sure
people on Wall Street act right
and do right and that banks are
fair with people."
Crist made no mention of his
potential campaign for governor
in 2014 during the forum but he
took every opportunity to tout
areas where his agenda often
coincided with Democrats en-

vironmental protection, better-
funded schools and teachers,
voting rights and immigration re-
form that embraces people eager
to move to America. His convic-
tions, he said, stem from the val-
ues his parents taught him and
essentially boil down to common
sense approaches to doing the
right thing.
He never mentioned Republican
Gov. Rick Scott, but gave a scath-
ing critique of voting law changes
embraced by Scott and Republi-
can lawmakers that he said led
to long lines and hindrances to
many Florida voters in November.

for more than a year. But at
about 18 months, for reasons
that aren't clear, the mother
stopped bringing the baby in
for the checks.

FURTHER STUDY
Gay summoned health-de-
partment and child-protection
workers, who found her last
August, and she returned

to the clinic. The baby had
been off therapy for at least
five months, Gay said. Before
resuming treatment, Gay or-
dered a test to make sure the
baby's virus hadn't developed
resistance to any of the drugs.
To her astonishment, techni-
cians couldn't find any virus
to test.
While the tests have detect-

Albert & Brednice Chauvet
Business & Entrepreneurism

Newton B. Sanon
Community Service

ed an occasional "signal" of
the virus, the various analyses
from several labs using differ-
ent techniques "confirms to
us that this is a case of 'func-
tional cure,' meaning that the
virus hasn't rebounded and
that . we can't detect virus
activity in this child," Dr. Per-
saud said. The work also was
supported by the NIH.

Fedrick Ingram
Education

RSVP Today!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

6:15 p.m.
Broward County Convention Center

Hosted by Calvin Hughes, Evening News Anchor, WPLG-TV Local 10

Please join us for a special evening to honor six distinguished leaders

at the 21st annual African-American Achievers awards ceremony.

Established by automotive legend Jim Moran, the program recognizes

everyday heroes whose hard work, commitment and compassion help

build a stronger South Florida community.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE

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or facebook.com/AfricanAmericanAchievers

By Kristin M. Hall All of the approximately 18,000 important state during the
Associated Press reservations for visitors and War," he said. "There were

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) The
original Emancipation Proclama-
tion, a document that changed
.the lives of countless Blacks
during the Civil War, is on dis-
play in Nashville as the fragile
historical document makes its
only stop in the Southeast on a
150th anniversary tour.
The exhibit opened last Tues-
day fittingly on President
Abraham Lincoln's birthday at
the Tennessee State Museum
and runs through this Mon-
day. It's a rare visit outside the
nation's capital for the original
document Lincoln signed in
1863 declaring "forever free" all
slaves held in Confederate states
rebelling against the Union.
Because lights are harmful to
the papers, the document can
only be viewed for 72 hours over
the course of the six days. After
Feb. 18, a replica of the Eman-
cipation Proclamation will be on
display until the exhibit ends
Sept. 1.
Throngs of school children
were among the first to view the
exhibit last Tuesday morning.

school groups to visit the exhibit
were taken, but more walk-in
visitors were being accommo-
dated.
Teachers at John Early Mu-
seum Magnet Middle School
incorporated the exhibit in their
lesson plans, such as having
students create their own mu-
seum exhibits and discussions
on the impact of the Emancipa-
tion Proclamation on the Civil
Rights movement, said Becky
Verner, an instructional designer
at the Nashville middle school.
She said interacting with real
historical documents makes a
lasting impact on students.
"They will remember this a lot
longer than reading a chapter in
a book," she said.
Bruce Bustard, senior curator
at the National Archives where
the document is kept, said Ten-
nessee was a key battleground
in the war, so he expects the
"Discovering The Civil War"
exhibit will draw many visitors
interested in seeing some of the
original documents from the
conflict.
"Tennessee was an incredibly

battles in Tennessee than any
other state in the Union except
for Virginia."
Claire Bolfing, 63, of Frank-
lin, Tenn., said with the recent
blockbuster movie about Lincoln
and anniversary events com-
memorating Civil War battles
around the South, the timing of
the exhibit was perfect.
Because the Emancipation
Proclamation is rarely on dis-
play, this was an opportunity
she didn't want to miss. "You
can see a facsimile and not truly
understand what all went into
creating the actual document,"
she said.
The exhibit is organized by
topic, rather than chronological-
ly like most Civil War museum
exhibits. It emphasizes a wide
range of documents, records
and artifacts that have been pre-
served at the National Archives.
"What we are trying to do is
tell you the little-known sto-
ries, and also some seldom
seen documents and unusual
perspectives on the war," said
Bustard, during a preview of the
exhibit Monday.

01- P

SCivil
more

Wayne Moore, right, looks over the Emancipation Proclama-
tion with the help of Jeff Sellers, the curator of education at the
Tennessee State Museum.

On Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln
made good on a pledge issued
100 days earlier, signing a final
proclamation declaring all slaves
in states in rebellion against the
Union to be free.
The proclamation wouldn't
end slavery outright and wasn't
even enforceable at the time by
Lincoln in areas under Con-
federate control. But the presi-
dent made clear from that day
forward that his forces would be
fighting to put the Union back
together without the institution
of slavery.
Along with the original procla-
mation, the exhibit also displays
the original signed copy of the
13th Amendment, which out-
lawed slavery in 1865, and an
unratified 1861 amendment that
would have prevented the fed-
eral government from interfering
in slavery.
"We didn't want to give people
the impression that the eman-
cipation was one moment,
that slavery ended from the
Emancipation Proclamation for
example," he said. "We wanted

to get across the idea that the
end of slavery was really an un-
even and unsteady process, but
that the United States moved a
tremendous distance from 1861
and 1865."
The exhibit also features
several interactive elements,
including a video of reunions
of Civil War troops, readings of
letters sent home from the front
lines and touch screens that al-
low visitors to explore historical
documents.
The exhibit originally opened
at the National Archives in 2010
and traveled to the Henry Ford
Museum in Dearborn, Mich.,
and the Houston.Museum of
Natural Science in Houston
before making its final stop in
Nashville.
The proclamation has been
rarely shown because it was
badly damaged decades ago by
long exposure to light. For many
years it was kept at the State
Department with other presi-
dential proclamations before
being transferred in 1936 to the
National Archives.

iI

di

-Courtesy of the National Archives
Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Cherokees Nation freed their slaves

By Melinda Miller
and Rachel Smith Purvi

Following on the heels of the
Emancipation Proclamation, in
February 1863 the Cherokee Na-
tion declared that all slaves with-
in its limits were "forever free." In
1983, the descendants of these
slaves, known as the Cherokee
Freedmen, were removed from
tribal .membership rolls and pro-
hibited from voting in Cherokee
elections. A series of protracted
legal battles over Freedmen citi-
zenship ensued and continue to-
day.
Questions on the status of the
Cherokees' former slaves in tribal
life originated in the complicated
landscape of the Civil War in In-
dian Territory, a story of an in-
ternal civil war within the larger
conflict. Although the Cherokee
Nation had initially joined the
Confederacy, Principal Chief
John Ross and his supporters

began discussions with North-
ern forces during the summer of
1862. These loyal Cherokees con-
vened a meeting of the National
Council at Cowskin Prairie and
produced two distinct emancipa-
tion acts, documents that rever-
berate in today's controversies
over the legal standing of the
Cherokee Freedmen.
Ross had originally rebuffed at-
tempts to become engaged in the
war, writing in June 1861: "I have
already signified my purpose to
take no part in it whatever." But
neutrality proved untenable, and
the Cherokees signed a treaty of
alliance with the Confederacy in
October 1861. The nation raised
two regiments; one was under
the command of Ross's nephew-
in-law John Drew, while Stand
Watie, Ross's long-time political,
opponent, led the other.
By 1862, Ross had become
disillusioned with the Confeder-
ate government. The first major

military engagements in Indian
Territory proved disastrous for
both the Confederacy and the
Cherokees. Retreating from In-
dian Territory, the Confederacy
left the Cherokees open to Union
advances and without supplies
for Cherokee troops and destitute
civilians. Although Ross believed
the Confederacy was shirking its
treaty promises, the Confederate
colonel Douglas H. Cooper called
upon Ross to fulfill his obliga-
tions by ordering all Cherokee
men of fighting age to "take up
arms to repel invasion."
Union Capt. Harris S. Greeno
was aware of Ross's dissatisfac-
tion with the Confederacy, and
he ordered the arrest of Ross
and his family at their planta-
tion home, Rose Cottage, in
present-day eastern Oklahoma.
They were quickly paroled and
escorted to Union territory, and
they retreated to his wife's family
home in Philadelphia.

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BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY

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A 8 THE MIAMI TIMES MA 3

I^

BLACKS M NT T O D 9A T M TIMES, M 6__2, 2013

A US female marine and
members of USN Hospi-
tal Corpsman from the
1st battalion 7th Marines
Regiment walk at FOB
(Forward Operating Base)
Jackson also known as
Sabit Khadam in Sangin,
Helmand Province on June

.7,2012.The US-led war
in Afghanistan has cost
the lives of around 3,000
U.S. and allied troops, seen
thousands of Afghans
killed and cost hundreds
of billions of dollars.
-Photos Adek Berry/AFP/Gettylmages

Women in U.S. military say

standards should stay same

By Jim Michaels

WASHINGTON Women in
the.military do not want stan-
dards to be lowered to help
them get into ground combat
jobs, advocacy groups and ser-
vicewomen say.
"We don't want unqualified
women in these positions," said
Maj. Mary Hegar, a decorated
helicopter pilot who was part of
a lawsuit demanding the Penta-
gon open ground combat fields
to women.
Advocacy groups say they
want to avoid quotas or even
placing pressure on command-
ers so that no one questions the
qualifications of women who
enter fields that had previously
been closed to females.
"We're not saying there needs
to be a woman in everyjob," said
Greg Jacob, the policy direc-
tor at Service Women's Action
Network, which has pushed for
allowing women to enter the in-
fantry and other ground com-
bat jobs. "What we're saying
is if there's a woman qualified,
there is no reason a woman
shouldn't be serving."
The Pentagon last month
repealed the ban on allowing
women into ground combat
fields, such as infantry, tanks
and artillery. The services have
several years to complete the
integration.
In response, the services said
they were developing gender-
neutral strength and fitness
tests based on the requirements
for those jobs, which include
infantry, artillery and tanks.
The tests may be administered
to men and women as a way of
screening men and women who
want to enter ground combat
fields.

^ar~~y^- -e A

Members of Female Engagement Team (FET), US Marines GySgt Michelle Hill (L) and Cpl. Reagan Odhner
(C) from the 1st battalion 7th Marines Regiment unload their M4 rifles after a patrol with Afghanistan National
Army (ANA) soldiers in Sangin in Helmand Province on June 6,2012.

The average Marine infantry-
men, for example, carry about
100 pounds of equipment on
their backs. They are expected
to walk over long distances.
A member of a tank crew
needs to be able to lift a
40-pound shell off a rack and
place it in the breech of the
main gun.
Female officers say it is im-
portant that those standards
be met by women if they are to
enter those fields.
"I don't want to see the stan-
dards of military effectiveness
be lowered," said Hegar, who
was injured when her medical
evacuation helicopter was shot
down in Afghanistan in 2009.
She exchanged fire with insur-
gents on the ground before she

was evacuated by standing on
the skids of a small helicopter
that picked up her crew. "There
are people who do well in com-
bat, and there are people who
don't," Hegar said. "It's not a
gender question."
However, some advocates have
said the standards and tests
being developed by the military
may not accurately reflect what
is required for the job.
"Why do we need standards
other than what already exists?"
asked Lory Manning, a retired
Navy captain and director of the
Women in the Military Project.
"The question is whether
those standards are rooted in
requirements in the job," Jacob
said.
Manning said the only tests

should be whether men and
women can complete the occu-
pational school.
The services say they will
be able to link the physical
strength tests to specific job re-
quirements.
"There will be people who
question: Why do you have
that standard?" said Marine Lt.
Gen. Robert Milstead, the dep-
uty commandant for manpower
and reserve affairs.
He said the Marines will take
a careful and responsible ap-
proach to assessing the physi-
cal standards for the more than
30 career fields that have been
closed to women.
"You're going to get one
chance to do it right," Milstead
said.

on front
willing to lay your life down for
this nation, then I don't care
if you're gay, straight, black,
white, yellow, male or female,
good for you, thank you for
serving. Go do the job.
Dp you believe that the act of
killing affects men and women
differently? No. The act of
killing is an unnatural act for
everyone.
The retired four-star general
Volney Warner, who helped
integrate women into the Army
division he commanded in
the '70s and has since lost a
granddaughter in Afghanistan,
said recently that "women are
better at giving life than taking
it." I think it's sexist. It's insult-
ing to men. Men view life to be
as precious as women do, and
to say that men have a more
violent nature is insulting to
men.
You were not particularly
happy when pilots you flew
with called you Mommy Pla-
toon Leader. Did you consider
this sexual harassment? Oh,
please. No, it's not. They were
just giving me a hard time,
because I served hot cocoa. Do
you know what? That hot cocoa
got my pilots and crew chiefs
warm faster, my crews took
off faster and they were more
deadly. If marshmallows and
blowing kisses on the hot cocoa
made my men more deadly, I
would have done that too.

By Andrew Goldman

You soundly defeated Joe
Walsh, a Tea Party Republican,
in November. He was known
for yelling on cable news, even
at his own constituents. Did
you feel lucky to be running
against him? Oh, no, not at
all. Joe Walsh had two sides to
him. There was the media side,
but he also can be very charm-
ing in person. He tapped into a
strand of fear that was present
throughout the country with
the economy.
He accused you of being a
Washington bureaucrat hand-
picked by Rahm Emanuel and
David Axelrod to defeat him.
I was encouraged by Senator
Durbin to run in 2006. You
know what caused me to run
this last time? Joe Walsh. We
couldn't get a budgetcontinuing
resolution passed, and then I
read Joe Walsh boasting about
how he was willing to shut the
government down.
After the Blackhawk heli-
copter you were piloting was
shot down in Iraq in 2004, you
described the scene at Walter
Reed hospital, where you recov-
ered, as the "amputee petting
zoo." Did you ever feel used by
the politicians who stopped by?

Yes and no. Ther6 were people
who you knew cared. Senator
Dole would sit on the mat next
to you and talk about his ser-
geant who pulled him to safety
and saved his life. Max Cleland
would come through and talk
about the struggles he had
with post-traumatic stress. As
a Democrat, I get a lot of heat
for this, but Paul Wolfowitz was
there for us. He would come
there on nights and weekends.
But a lot of people saw
Wolfowitz as one of the group
of neoconservatives who had
never served and . was the
reason I got sent to Iraq and
got blown up. But he cared.
By some estimates, one in
five veterans have received a
diagnosis of post-traumatic
stress disorder. Have you? I do
not have PTSD, but if I watch
part of a movie like 'The Hurt
Locker" or when I spend time
around Blackhawk helicopters,
I will close my eyes that night
and live an entire day in Iraq,
flying my missions. I remember
the smell and the feel and the
heat and everything about it.
Then I wake up in Illinois, and
I'm exhausted.
When you wake up do you
feel a sense of loss when you
realize what happened to your

TAMMY DUCKWORTH
legs? Of course. But I have a
different perspective for what
my legs are now. Now they're
just tools, you know? If I still
had my legs, I would be in line
for a battalion command, and
instead I'm flying a desk.
There has been a good deal of
hand-wringing about the recent
ruling opening up combat posi-
tions to women. Some argue
that since there are a limited
number of frontline combat
jobs, women shouldn't replace
men there. It doesn't make any
sense at all. All this ruling does
is give everyone the chance
to do these jobs. You want
to be infantry? Here, carry
this 80-pound rucksack and
march 20 miles. Can you drag
a 200-pound dead weight 200
yards like you may have to?
If you can do it, and if you're

By Jim Saunders

TALLAHASSEE Trying
to prevent what one official
described as -white-knuckle
moments" for families, the
state plans to change the way
it determines the home-based
services that will be provided
to children with highly com-
plex medical needs.
The proposed changes,
which will be published, in-
clude assigning care coordi-
nators for all children who
receive private-duty nursing
services through the Medicaid
program. The state Agency for
Health Care Administration
said the move is designed to
make sure children have full
access to services at home
and in their communities.
Also, the proposals in-
volve using teams, including
parents, doctors and other
health professionals, to try to
reach agreement on the ser-
vices needed to keep children
at home. That could help re-
duce hearings about issues
such as how many services
children should receive and
the proper number of hours
- situations that state Med-
icaid director Justin Senior
said have created "white-
knuckle moments" for fami-
lies in the past.
"We're trying to change it so
it is a more collaborative way
of getting to the right number
(of services or hours)," said
Seniory.
He said families sometimes
have issues that contribute to
the need for services but that
might not show up in a check
of their children's medical're-
cords. For instance, parents'
work schedules or medical
conditions could affect their
ability to care for children.
The proposed changes,

which have to go through a
rule-making process, are ex-
pected to take effect within
three months. They would
affect about 1,600 children
a year who have medically
complex conditions that re-
quire extensive amounts of
care to allow them to live at
home.

The state Agency for
Health Care Administra-

tion said the move is

designed to make sure
children have full access

to services at home and

in their communities.

The state's handling of
such children has received
heavy scrutiny since the U.S.
Department of Justice issued
a report that alleged young-
sters were placed in nursing
homes unnecessarily. The
Department of Justice has
requested changes in the sys-
tem of care for medically frag-
ile children and threatened to
take legal action against the
state.
Also, a potential class-
action lawsuit is pending in
federal court in South Flori-
da on behalf of children who
have been placed in nursing
homes or who'are "at risk" of
being placed in the homes.
The lawsuit and the Depart-
ment of Justice report alleged
possible violations of 'the
Americans with Disabilities
Act and questioned whether
the state has done enough to
help families get services so
children can live at home.
AHCA officials have ada-
mantly disputed the findings.

I N`

All quiet on the Washingt

Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth on her
political battles and women in combat M O% a i.5

BLACKS MUST CONTROL THEIR OWN DESTINY

9A THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

Deerfield Beach

parade recognizes

Black pioneers

Founders Day "This is my home," said
Brooks. 86. %whose parents
float will mark emigrated from the Bahamas
in the early 1900s. "I've been
contributions in Deerfield all of my life. I like
Deerfield now even more than
By Erika Pesantes before. I would feel left out if 1
was not here.'
DEERFIELD BEACH Beans, peppers and squash
Edna Johnson made cream were among the vegetables
pies for the city's first Found- farmed in the town, said
ers' Days celebration 66 years Sandra Jackson, 54. whose
ago and returned last Satur- grandfather was one of the
day to join the parade as one city's original Black pioneers,
of the town's pioneers at the a minister and a farmer.
age of 101. Although there were fami-
She rode shotgun as her lies remembering the past,
grandson drove an SUV along there were others who aimed
Hillsboro Boulevard from Pio- to preserve the present. The
neer Park to the beach, where Original Save Our Beach
the parade ended at a seaside committee joined the parade
carnival, which continues and marched to remind resi-
Sunday. dents to keep an eye on eager
'Oh, it's wonderful and re- waterfront developers.
minds me of long ago," said "Yes, paradise is here!" So-
Johnson, who now lives with nia Pavan echoed back to
her daughter in Georgia but the beach preservationists as
returns to Deerfield Beach they passed by.
during winters. "I attended She and her husband. Aril-
the first one and every one ton Pavan, set up their busi-
after." ness, Dixie Divers, and raised
Her husband, Myrle John- their three daughters in Deer-
son, was the city's first fire field Beach after immigrating
chief and public works direc- to the U.S. from Brazil, she
tor, relatives said. said.
The parade celebrated the Victoria O'Sullivan also
city's pioneering families, but planned to continue rais-
also served as a platform for ing her children in Deerfield
politicians looking to be elect- Beach. Her fourth son's birth
ed, businesses flaunting their is scheduled for Saturday,
services and community or- she said.
ganizations showcasing their "Ill be here forever,"
efforts. O'Sullivan. 33, said. "I\e nev-
Boxing promoter Don King er missed a year of Founders'
was the Grand Marshal and Day."
rode in a black convertible Barbara Witty, 44, came to
Rolls Royce. the parade with her mother,
A "Pioneers of Deerfield" grandmother. sisters and oth-
float was a mobile tropical er relatives. Her family's five
oasis with decorative palm generations stood along Hill-
fronds and baskets full of fruit sboro Boulevard and clapped
and greener-. The city origi- and cheered as the floats pa-
nally began as a farming com- raded by.
munity, said Leola Brooks, a "This is a very important
Deerfield Beach Historical So- day for the city of Deerfield
city member who rode on the Beach the new and the old,
float and recalls a time when and everyone coming togeth-
schools were segregated and er. This is a day for the whole
roads were unpaved. community," Witty said.

State plans changes for

children in home care

The Miami Times

Faith

SECTION B

MIAMI, FLORIDA, MARCH 6-12, 2013

Rev. Clifford H. McKinney, Sr. and First Lady
Juanita McKinney

Pastor reaches out

to the community

with a warm smile
Plans on providing computer
and language classes
By Malika A. Wright
Il ing i 1h 1u1nillliltnt i.,liti .corn
The first thing you will probably notice about Rev.
Clifford H. McKinney. Sr.. 61. pastor of Hurst Cha-
pel A.M.E Church, is his smile. It has been that way
his entire life.
And over the past three years as a pastor, his
smile and warm personality are the reasons behind
him being known as the friendly \ pastor" amongst
the West Perrine community.
"I smile and talk
to everyone." _lcKin- a
nev said. "I don't care
who you are. \ our
social-economic level,
whether you're a drug ', .
user or a drug dealer. REV. CLIFFORD H. MCKINNEY
I'm gonna talk to
you.
He uses his friendly spirit that he has picked up
from his parents. as he leads his church and evan-
gelizes in its surrounding community.
McKinney's neighborly outlook is present.in the
church's mission, which is to "preach and teach the
new command" McKinney said quoting, John 13:
34-35, "As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this everyone will know that you are my
disciples. if you love one another."
HURST'S MAIN MISSIONS
Some of the top priorities at Hurst Chapel are:
reaching out to people who are not attending
church; serving people especially children who
have parents or other family members who are
incarcerated: and helping stop crime and drug traf-
ficking in the Perrine area by having a presence in
the community and developing programs to help the
Please turn to McKINNEY 11B

FAMILY AND FRIENDS
HONOR LEGACY OF
TANYA MARTIN PEKEL

A street designation ceremony in honor of the late
Tanya Martin Pekelwas held last Friday at Miami
Shores Elementary School. [103rd and NE 5th
Avenue.] A product of Miami-Dade County Public
Schools, Pekel was passionate about reading and
learning. She served as an associate director for
Education and Policy Planning under President
Clinton. To commemorate her legacy of reading,
a book giveaway and tutoring initiative is being
launched for underserved communities. Pekel died
of breast cancer in 2006. Pictured are members of
her family and elected officials that were on-hand
for the ceremony.

Senios arephotoraphe

missioner LuisB. Santiago o

1-800-FLA-AIDS

|nxii l'nr iIlr.ti \ lM .">- "r ,

HEALTH
Miam,-Dade County Healln Departmeni

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IPUotU LUUIlt I e hVuUU

Trinity Church reaches out to the community

Center partnered

with Joyce Meyer

at "Hope Jam"

By Malika A. Wright
mwright@miamitimesonline.com

On Saturday afternoon, about
one thousand people left Trinity
Church with their hands full of
groceries, some with new hair
cuts and others after receiving
free medical care. Many smiled
as though they were walking
away with hope.
And helping those in need
feel hopeful was the very reason
Trinity Church Peacemakers
Family Center partnered with
Hand of Hope, the international
outreach component of Joyce
Meyer Ministries, to organize
a large-scale community out-
reach benefit called Hope Jam.
Meyer, who preached at the
church's 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Sunday worship services,
walked around and greeted at-
tendees at the Hope Jam.
. Attendees were all welcomed
to receive free food, free health
and dental screenings, free
haircuts and more than 2,000
bags of groceries were distribut-
ed. Also, there was live music,
carnival rides and face paint-
ing.
There were information
booths at the event, which con-
nected community members
with helpful resources through-
out the community and ben-
eficial services that the Peace-
makers Family Center provides,
such as: Job placement ser-

Attendee

. ILA*- r
,.- ,

Several Christian music artists perform at Hope Jam.

vices, social service counseling,
unemployment insurance ben-
efit counseling, parenting edu-
cation and other services.
Everyone seemed to be enjoy-
ing the event, even the volun-
teers. Lourdie Pierre, a member
of Trinity for about six years

and Jennifer Hubbard, who has
been attending the church a lot
recently, volunteered at Hope
Jam as greeters.
"I think it's a beautiful thing
because it brings out the best in
everyone," Pierre said. "Every-
body wants to .help, and when

Two volunteers help children into bounce house.

Children enjoyed the slide
and other carnival rides at
the event.

A young girl smiles after
getting her face painted.
you're volunteering you get to
make new friends."
Pastor Linda Freeman, ex-
ecutive director of Peacemaker
Family Center, said the goal of
the event was to provide hope
to the community, spiritually,
as well as physically and emo-
tionally.
"We are about serving, giv-
ing, sharing, loving, and show-
ing the love of God in a tangible
way," Freeman said.

Faith responses to the death penalty

Paul Howell

granted stay

of execution
Miami Times Staff Report

Tallahassee Citizens Against
the Death Penalty (TCADP) re-
ceived the response they peti-
tioned for, when Paul Howell,
the 47-year-old man convicted
of killing a state trooper in 1992,
was granted a stay of execution
on Feb. 25, one day before he
was scheduled to be given a le-
thal injection.
On Feb. 21 at a press confer-
ence, TCADP released "Faith
Responses to the Death Penal-
ty," a booklet which proves that
a majority of different congre-
gations .of Florida are against
capital punishment.
The booklet was distributed
to every member of the Florida
Legislature and also Governor
Rick Scott and Attorney Gen-
eral Pam Bondi last week.
"I don't think that many of
the legislatures and governors
are aware that the churches are
opposing the death penalty,"

'-4

I
.

,JUVAIS HARRINGTON
Rev. Emory Hingst, a retired Recently, one of Howell attor-
leader of St. Stephen Lutheran ney's, Michael Ufferman, said
Church, said. that he had received an order
"It's an educational [oppor- from the 11th Circuit Court of
tunity] to make them more Appeals that Howell's execution
aware." would be temporarily stayed

because the district court had
granted Howell's certificate of
appealability, according to the
Huffington Post.
Ufferman said he is hopeful
that Howell will be given the
chance to have his case heard
in federal court, but said that
there is still no guarantee that
will happen.
Unless the courts act, Howell
will be the first person executed
in Florida without the opportu-
nity for federal court review.
Among the religious state-
ments in the booklet are the
American Baptists, the Evangel-
ical Lutherans, the Presbyterian
Church, the United Methodist
Church, the Florida Conference
of Catholic Bishops, the Florida
Council of Churches, and the
American Jewish Committee -
these and seven more have all
released statements against the
use of capital punishment.
"[The booklet] communicates
not only to the governors and
legislators but also the Chris-
tians who belong to different de-
nominations that this is where
your church says you stand on
this [issue]," Juvais Harrington,
the chair of TCADP, said.

Pastor reaches the community through love

McKINNEY
continued from 10B

South Dade community.
One of the initiatives the
church has in mind is a com-
puter center, which will hold
computer literacy classes for
senior citizens and also lan-
guage classes for everyone.
McKinney said he believes it is
important for adults and chil-
dren who reside in Miami to
learn Spanish or Haitian Cre-
ole/French.
"I think we need to learn [dif-

ferent languages] in terms of
business and in terms of edu-
cation," he said. "Some busi-
nesses will only hire you if
you're bilingual."
McKinney, who has suc-
ceeded in business as a leader
at different financial services
firms before retiring, is now a
full-time pastor.

PUTTING THE BIBLE
INTO ACTION
"The street ministry is the
most important thing in my
life," McKinney said.

This is evident through his
visibility throughout the com-
munity. He spends 10 hours
a week going around speak-
ing to people and passing out
booklets about God.
"That's the job that God
has called every pastor, min-
ister and all the people in the
church to do," he said, quoting
Mark 16:15, which says, "Go
into all the world and preach
the good news to all creation."
McKinney said he has no-
ticed that the amount of peo-
ple inside the churches on

Sunday is the same as the
number of people outside of
the church.
But he has noticed a re-
sponse to his efforts of evange-
lizing and reaching out to the
community, he said several
visitors have stopped by his
church.
He plans to have more of
his members, including young
people, join him in community
outreach, by using his same
sociable approach.
"A smile tears down any
wall," he said.

Several churches unite to combat HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS
continued from 10B
chairperson of Churches Unit-
ed For HIV/AIDS Prevention.
"And if the church can lend its
voice to the cause of HIV/AIDS
education, it will certainly re-
duce numbers."
With the Black church's
strong influence being consid-
ered, The Churches United for
HIV/AIDS Prevention kicked
off their observation of Nation-
al Week of Prayer for the heal-
ing of AIDS.
There are a total of 12 events

that have already taken place
and some that will occur dur-
ing the remainder of the week.
Those events include: A com-
munity outreach held at Beth-
el Faith Apostolic Temple on
17th Avenue and 71st Street; a
pastoral breakfast which took
place at Jordan Grove Mis-
sionary Baptist Church; and
a concert that will be held on
Friday at 8 p.m., called Sing
For A Cure.
Baxter said that having the
church involved in HIV/AIDS
awareness will help the com-
munity understand that it's

alright to talk about HIV/AIDS
at home with your children
and at work, he added that it
will also show people that it is
OK to get tested. Rapid testing
will continue to be provided at
every event and the churches
are prepared in case anyone
happens to test positive for
HIV or AIDS.
"Well be able to link them
immediately to a counselor and
let them know that it's not the
end of the world," Baxter said.
"We will certainly walk with
them and make sure that they
are covered and well connected

with the many resources that
are available in Dade County."
Baxter said a couple of the
goals of the Churches United
For HIV/AIDS Prevention is
for pastors and leaders to have
a greater urgency and aware-
ness of how important it is to
continue HIV/AIDS education
throughout the year and to
test 200 people.
"Get tested so that you can
be in control of your life, in
control of your destiny and
continue to contribute to the
growth of our society," Baxter
said.

The National Week
of Prayer for the Healing
of AIDS will be observed at
various churches during the
week of March 3-9. Call
305-978-7100.

!- New Birth Baptist
Church Cathedral of Faith
International and partners
will host a job and resource
fair expo at Fountain of New
Life Church on Mar. 7 at 9
a.m.-2 p.m. Call 305-757-
2199.

Valley Grove M. B.
Church invites the public
to its Annual Church Re-
vival featuring guest pastor,
Bishop James D. Adams on
March 7-8 at 7:30 p.m. Call
305-835-8316.

M A Mission With A New
Beginning Church Wom-
en's Department provides
community feeding. Call
786-371-3779.

Bethany Seventh Day
Adventist Church will host
a bereavement sharing
group at 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
every 2nd Sunday. Call 305-
634-2993.

I

-Photo by Marvin Ellis

The Episcopal Diocese

recognizes first Black priest

From Slave To Priest: The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation
hosted The 28th Annual Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida
Commemoration of Absalom Jones on Feb. 16. Jones was the
first Black Episcopal Priest. Pictured is the guest preacher of
the event, The Right Rev. Robert Wright, the first Black man to
become an Episcopal bishop in Georgia.

..........3

smiles as he receives a free bag of groceries.

THE NATION'S #1 BLACK NEWSPAPER

oa IllrP

a

11B THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

I

7

c,

12B THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

THE NATION'S #1 BLACK NEWSPAPER

Winans Jr. gets 14 year prison sentence I

By Nicola Menzie

Michael Winans Jr., of the
popular Gospel-singing Wi-
nans family, was sentenced
this week to nearly 14 years
in prison for taking advantage
of "good, decent church-going
people" in an $8 million ponzi
scam carried out in Christian
churches.
"Fraud on good, decent
church-going people that was
very, very troubling to me,"
said U.S. District Judge Sean
Cox in a Detroit, Mich., federal
courtroom on Wednesday.
Cox had read some of the 50
letters written by Winans' vic-
tims, who say the 30-year-old
Maryland native and Grammy
nominee ruined their lives by
convincing them from church
pulpits that he would be in-
vesting their money in Saudi
Arabian crude oil bonds.
Victims say they've expe-
rienced ruined relationships
with family members who
they convinced to invest with
Winans, broken marriages,
death threats, and loss of their
homes. In one case, a young
woman enrolled in the U.S.
military due to losing her col-
lege tuition.
Winans had collected $8 mil-
lion from more than 1,000 in-
vestors between October 2007
and September 2008 through
his connections with various
churches in Michigan. He often
collected between $1,000 to

MICHAEL WINANS JR.
$7,000 from his duped inves-
tors, promising that they would
receive 100 percent returns in
a matter of months. Federal in-
vestigators say Winans instead
used the millions for personal
expenses and.to pay off previ-
ous investors.
Winans did at one point learn
that the crude bonds were
fake, but went on collecting
money from investors, WDIV-
TV reports.
The 30-year-old nephew of
award-winning singers Bebe
and Cece Winans pleaded
guilty in October to wire fraud
and promised to repay each in-
vestor. According to The Asso-
ciated Press, about 600 people
are waiting for a total of $4.8;
million to be repaid.
In court Wednesday, Winans
"repented" and insisted that he

;.-. .. ,_ ,_ .
BISHOP EDDIE LONG
carried out the scheme in good
faith, wanting to help people
better their lives.
I caused "financial and emo-
tional damage. For that I re-
pent," he told Judge Cox, ac-
cording to the Detroit Free
Press. Winans added that there
was no "malicious intent on my
part ... I wanted people to have
a good life."
The publication also shared
a comment from Assistant U.S.
Attorney Abed Hammoud, who
said Winans "used religion. He
used the church, the good rep-
utation of the family" to fool his
victims.
The disgraced recording art-
ist and music producer who
has worked with Diddy, Chris
Brown and several other artists,
was sentenced to 13 years and'
nine months in federal prison

and ordered to make restitu-
tion. Judge Cox's sentencing
fell in the suggested range of
12-1/2 years to 15-1/2 years
in prison for such a crime.
Winans' attorney, William
Hatchett, has insisted that
no other Winans family mem-
bers were involved in the ponzi
scheme.
The U.S. Securities and Ex-
change Commission calls the
kind of crime committed by
Winans "affinity fraud," which
involves fraudsters targeting
specific groups, in this case
Christians, and using their
shared faith to attract invest-
ments from the group's mem-
bers, as well as from their
friends and family members.
Another high-profile fraud
case involves Bishop Eddie Long
of New Birth Missionary Baptist
Church in Georgia, who is be-
ing sued by 12 former church
members for encouraging them
to invest with Ephren Taylor,
wanted by federal authorities
for allegedly stealing $11 mil-
lion from unsuspecting inves-
tors. Court documents indicate
that Long was warned about
Taylor's alleged scheme nearly
two weeks before his sched-
uled appearance at the Litho'
nia megachurch. Taylor, who
is wanted along with his father
and another family member for
similar crimes, is apparently on
the run, according to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Com-
mission.

The church's expectations unrealistic?

Marvin Sapp and Kandi Burruss'

Gospel song causes debate

By Rebecca Johnson

When gospel luminary Mar-
vin Sapp teamed up with real-
ity TV star and se\ toy seller
Kandi Burruss for the # 1
iTunes hit "Stay Prayed Lip."
the faith-based community
was up in arms.
Now, the backlash has
opened up a can of worms
surrounding the church's ex-
pectacions of Christians.
The criticism surrounding
the unlikely pairing was so
overwhelming that Sapp took
to his "Official Marvin Sapp"
Facebook page Tuesday. Feb.
26 to set things straight
(He ga'e this disclaimer:
'Didn't spell check because
I'm late to a meeting."I
"This woman who was an ex
R&B singer that sells sex toys
and live with her man decid-
ed on a show that reaches 10
million viewers per showing
(believers and unbelievers) to
sing about . Not sex toys,
drugs or iviing with a man but
PRAYER!!!!!! and the saints
are upset." he pointed out
clearly exasperated.
Then the popular preacher
highlighted the sordid history
of many of the Bible's great-
est leaders. "Moses was a

murderer. Rahab was a harlet
(whorel. David was a murder,
adulter and still considered a
man after Gods own heart, Pe-
ter was a cutting cusser how-
ever was in the inner circle of
Jesus." wTote Sapp.
Furthermore, he chided
the church for condemning
what he believes is Chnst-
like behavior. "We say we are
Christuans which means being
Christ-like but question peo-
ples motties that model his
behavior....The bible speaks
about witnessing and that you
need to be wise to win souLls,"
he noted.
Continued Sapp, "Compro-
mise \was never done here nor
do I condone her life style or
life choices and keeping 100
you don't know the off camera
conversation we had."
The Michigan pastor as-
serted that followers of Christ
should focus on the "big pic-
ture." which, for him. is the
fact that"l0 million people
at 1 time were challenged
to PRAY in difficult times
WOW!!!! That"s awesome and
ministry....."
NBC's TheGno.com writer
Demetria Lucas also weighs
in on the Burruss-Sapp col-
laboration controversy in an

MARVIN SAPP

arucle titled. "Is the pressure
to be perfect Chrstians un-
dermining the church?"
Lucas claims. "Somewhere
along the \vwa, it seems that
to some certainly not all
- Chnstians being Christian
became synonymous with be-
ing perlect"-something she
believes is responsible for
the mass exodus out of the
church.
Is she right?
In order to avoid harsh judg-
ment based on her shortcom-
ings, the writer admits, "I in-
tentionally don't go to church
anymore and I've actively
stopped refernng to myself as
a 'Christian
Then. Lucas offers up this

KANDI BURGESS
advice to professing Chns-
tians
If Chnstians want to main-
tain relevance among the
younger set, It \oulId be help-
ful if those with holier-than-
thou attitudes stopped alien-
ating other flawed members of
the flock.
It doesn't make Christians
appear more righteous or
more perfect. It just serves to
silence imperfect people who'
want to avoid uLdg2ment and
drives well-intentioned. but
flawed sinners awav from the
church
This ongoing debate be-
tween the "sainted" and ''secu-
lar" communities has reached
fever pitch

Unconditional love not as it may seem

By Dan Delzell

"If God really loves me, then
He should accept me just the
way I am . no matter how I
choose to live. After all, every-
one is a sinner." Maybe you
have heard someone express
that sentiment, or perhaps
even felt that way yourself.
Let's think about that theory.
First of all, why should God's
acceptance of our behavior be
unconditional . while our ac-
ceptance of the behavior of our
loved ones is conditional? For
instance, look at all the parents
who love their children uncon-
ditionally . but who do not
approve of all of their behav-
iors. And what about all the
wives and husbands who love
their spouse dearly, and un-
conditionally, but who do not
approve of certain behaviors of
their spouse. Some behaviors
actually jeopardize the marriage
relationship. We don't question
the love of those parents .. or
those spouses. Then why is it
so easy for people to question
God's unconditional love?
Our problem as sinners is
that we tend to think we should
be able to do whatever we feel
like doing. In that sense, we

W ..-
We don't question the love ...or those spouses.Then why
is it so easy for people to question God's unconditional love?

are like little children. We don't
always understand what is
best for us....and we question
whether God truly knows what
is best for us. If His Word for-
bids something I feel like doing,
then the problem must be with
God's Word, right? At least that
is what popular thought tends
to say. "It can't be us. It can't
be me. I am always right ..
right?"
Oh we try and do it some-
times. We hear folks talk about
"accepting people for who they
are." What they really mean is

that "unconditional love should
include unconditional accep-
tance." That is their theory .
. and their approach to life. It
sounds extremely tolerant . .
and loving . until you ana-
lyze it bit. Then you realize that
it doesn't work. In the end, it
allows everyone to do whatever
he thinks is best for him . .
regardless of whether or not
God has an issue with it. "Well
that's God's problem then . .
or those Christians ... it's their
problem . but don't make it
my problem."

God is always right. His de-
crees are always right. Any vio-
lation of His decrees are always
wrong. Man's feelings about
God's decrees are way down the
list in terms of importance.
Not only that . but we also
tend to define "love" wrong.
Again, we start with man . .
and assume that "true love" ac-
cepts almost any behavior that
seems to be the preference of
anyone or any group of people.
If we start with God, we see that
love is really about Him. "God is
love." (1 John 4: God sent His
Son to save us from our sin be-
cause He loves us. He loves sin-
ners. He loves us for who we are
.. not for what we have done.
We did nothing to earn His love,
but He loves us still the same.
That is unconditional love. But
that does not mean that He ac-
cepts all of our preferences ...
and our choices . and all of
our wants and desires.
So at the end of the day, God
is the only Person who is quali-
fied to define "good" and "evil."
Any other definitions are just
man's attempts at trying to
make unconditional love always
include unconditional accep-
tance. In a nutshell, we've all
got issues.

Every public family has pri-
vate struggles-something that
is explored on"The Sheards"
airing on BET April 7 at 10p.m.
The gospel reality series fol-
lows Bishop J. Drew Sheard,
First Lady Karen Clark Sheard,
recording artist Kierra Sheard,
and producer J. Drew Sheard
II through the murky waters of
life in the spotlight.
Kierra wants her "career to
be big", to "take the gospel to
a whole different place" and to
expand her ministry platform.
J Drew II, unlike his sister,
is more interested in partying
and living life on the edge, de-
spite what people think of him.
Frankly, he resents the expec-
tation placed upon him and his
family to live out what he views
as a lofty Christian .ideal-
seemingly the dominant theme
of the series.
"Everybody forgets about the
fact that I want to be me," says
J Drew II, the family's "black
sheep," who insists on going
against the grain. "I want to get
out and have fun."
Flashes are shown of him

dancing and mingling with the
worldly crowd where the al-
cohol is flowing, the music is
cranked up, and he is living it
up.
Karen tries to help her way-
ward son understand that, as
a famous Christian family, with
an awesome legacy to carry on,
they can't afford to make "one
bad move."
During one scene, both par-
ents Karen and J Drew Sr. sit
down with their children. "Do
you think you're doing any-
thing God wouldn't be pleased
with?" she asks. Then, the fam-
ily's patriarch, chimes in, "No-
body has your best interest at
heart more than us."
But yet, young J. Drew is
determined to pursue his own
path.
"I'm sick of the church! The
world is so much bigger than
that!" he yells in a heated ex-
change with his mother.
"Now, you gone take that
back," replies the usually doc-
ile Karen, becoming bold and
insistent. "You ain't gone say
that in front of me. That, I won't
allow!" she exclaims. "Take it
back!"

Bishop James D. Adams in revival
Valley' Grove Missionary Thursday, March 6th and Fri-
Baptist Church will host Bish- day, March 7th.with both ser-
op James D. Adams and the vices beginning at 7:30 p.m.
St. John Missionary Baptist Valley Grove is pastored by
Church in two revival services. Elder Johnnie Robinson and
Bishop Adams will preach on located at 1395 NW 69th Street.

tliroughi the Cast of the end
time Prophets. Come and
experience the miracukus
ministry of

Experience an end time anointing where you wI"
witness the laying of hand for the sick, the fane wafk,
the bGindreceive sight, marriages restored, andmuch
much more...

Se-vcewil abehed t

-* ^-.i

Hea

th

redness

Sponsored by North Shore Medical Center
"Once You Know, It's Where To Go"

Man bans Black nurses from newborn

Michigan hospital complies with

patient's request
By Associated Press

It's been called one of medi-
cine's "open secrets" allow-
ing patients to refuse treatment
by a doctor or nurse of another
race.
In the latest example, a white
man with a swastika tattoo in-
sisted that Black nurses not be
allowed to touch his newborn.
Now two Black nurses are suing
the hospital, claiming it bowed
to his illegal demands.
The Michigan cases are
among several lawsuits filed in
recent years that highlight this
seldom-discussed issue, which
quietly persists almost 60 years
after the start of the civil rights
movement.
The American Medical Associ-
ation's ethics code bars doctors
from refusing to treat people
based on race, gender and oth-
er criteria, but there are no spe-
cific policies for handling race-
based requests from patients.
"In general, I don't think hon-
oring prejudicial preferences .
S. is morally justifiable" for a
health care organization, said
Dr. Susan Goold, a University
of Michigan professor of inter-

3

nal medicine and public health.
"That said, you can't cure big-
otry . There may be times
when grudgingly acceding to a
patient's strongly held prefer-
ences is morally OK."
Those times could include pa-
tients who have been so trau-
matized by rape or combat,
for instance that accommo-
dating their request would be
preferable to forcing on them a
caregiver whose mere presence
might aggravate the situation,
she said.
Tonya Battle, a veteran nurse
at Flint's Hurley Medical Center,
filed the first complaint against
the hospital and a nursing man-
ager, claiming a note posted on
an assignment clipboard read,
"No African-American nurse to
take care of baby." She says
the note was later removed but
Black nurses weren't assigned
to care for the baby for about a
month because of their race.
That case is now a federal
lawsuit. In a statement last
week, Hurley President Melany
Gavulic denied Battle's claim,
saying the father was told that
his request could not be grant-
ed. Gavulic said the swastika

The Associated Press
Sam Riddle, political director for the National Action Network, speaks outside Hurley Medi-
cal Center in Flint, Mich., last Tuesday during a protest in response to a Black nurse's claim
that the hospital agreed to a man's request that no Black nurses care for his newborn.

tattoo "created anger and out-
rage in our staff," and supervi-
sors raised safety concerns.
Hospital officials said they
planned to make a statement
about the matter last Friday

evening but offered no details.
Multiple email and phone
messages left for Battle through
her attorney were unreturned,
and a listed number for her had
been disconnected. She told the

Detroit Free Press she "didn't
even know how to react" when
she learned of her employer's
actions following her interac-
tion with the father.
She said she introduced her-

self to the man and he said, "I
need to see your supervisor."
That supervisor, Battle said,
told her that the father, who
was white, didn't want Blacks
to care for his child and had
rolled up his sleeve to expose
the swastika.
"I just was really dumbfound-
ed," Battle said. "I couldn't be-
lieve that's why he was so angry
(and) that's why he was request-
ing my (supervisory) nurse."
Attorney Tom Pabst, who is
representing nurse Carlotta
Armstrong in a second lawsuit,
said the hospital's actions left
nurses in the neonatal inten-
sive care unit "in a ball of con-
fusion."
"She said, You know what re-
ally bothered me? I didn't know
what to do if the baby was chok-
ing or dying. Am I going to get
fired if I go bver there?"' Pabst
said.
The Michigan cases follow a
2010 decision by the 7th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals, which
held that the federal Civil Rights
Act prohibits nursing homes
from making staffing decisions
for nursing assistants based on
residents' racial preferences.
The ruling stemmed from a law-
suit filed by a Black nursing as-
sistant who sued her employer
for racial discrimination.

I

""4 ,Y ,' -

Michelle Obama reveals

search for healthy recipes

By Associated Press

,Michelle Obama says five
media companies and a social
media website are working to-
gether to make it easier to find
nutritious recipes.
Conde Nast, Hearst Maga-
zines, Meredith Corp., the Food
Network and Time Inc., have
identified more than 3,000 reci-
pes that meet federal nutrition
guidelines for how much fruit,
vegetables, protein and grains
should be on a person's plate at

each meal. The companies are
promoting the recipes on their
most popular cooking websites,
and nearly 1,000 have been
posted on a new page on the
social networking site Pinterest.
The first lady says- the new
partnership will take the "guess
work" out of finding healthier
recipes. The collaboration is
being done in support of Mrs.
Obama's anti-childhood obesity
initiative "Let's Move." The pro-
gram marked its third anniver-
sary this month.

i NSMC awarded advanced certification

The Joint Commission, in review in January 2013. A
conjunction with The Ameri- Joint Commission expert re-
can Heart Association/Ameri- viewed North Shore Medical
can Stroke Association, re- "' Center's compliance with the
cently recognized North Shore --, requirements for The Joint
Medical Center with Advanced Commission's Disease-Specif-
Certification ofor Primary ic Care Certification program
Stroke Centers. Achievement as well as primary stroke cen-
of Primary Stroke Center Cer- ter requirements, such as col-
tification signifies an organi- lecting Joint Commission core
zation's dedication to fostering measure data and using it for
better outcomes for patients. performance improvement ac-
North Shore Medical Center's ga tivities.
Primary Stroke Center Certifi- Developed in collaboration
cation has demonstrated that with the American Stroke
their program meets critical a Association and launched
elements of performance to in 2003, The Joint Commis-
achieve long-term success sion's Primary Stroke Center
in improving outcomes for Certification program is based
stroke patients. Arlene Cameron, North Shore Medical Center stroke pro- on the Brain Attack Coati-
North Shore Medical Center gram coordinator and team-lead received a recognition tion's "Recommendations for
underwent a rigorous on-site award from North Shore CEO Manny Linares. Please turn to NSMC 14B

Teen auto fatalities continues to rise

I was a teen, I had enough re-
sponsibility to know not to do
something so dangerous and
stupid.
Georgiana Hall

Teens should not text while
driving. But I'm not going to
pretend that. I wasn't ever a
teenager. I don't even know
how I'm alive after learning to
drive on ice and snow doing
Please turn to TEENS 14B

That stuck with me for a long
time, not just because it was a
sad story, but because some-
one I respected told it to me in
a matter-offact way.
Kids don't need "Red As-
phalt" or other films made to
scare new drivers. However,
teens need to hear the message
that driving is one of the most
dangerous things they will do
every day.
Josh Dorner

The problems with teenage
drivers nowadays are twofold:
Parents don't teach them re-
sponsibility and the need to re-
spect others. These young peo-
ple are members of the "me"
generation.
Please don't iuse a cellphone
while driving. I think cell-
phones should have technol-
ogy that disables texting while
moving in a car.
Then again, years ago when

In the first half of last year,
240 16- and 17-year-old driv-
ers died in highway accidents,
up from 202 for the same pe-
riod a year earlier.
When I first got my license at
18, my father told me a long,
sorrowful story of a young,
newly married guy he knew
who was killed in a car crash.
My dad made the point clear
that driving is extremely dan-
gerous.

Blacks are infected with sexu-
ally transmitted infections
more than any other group.
The latest.CDC statistics show
that Black men and women:
Are infected with chla-
mydia seven times as much
as whites and three times as
much as Hispanics
Are infected with gon-
orrhea 17 times as much as
whites and eight times as much
as Hispanics
Are contracting syphi-
lis most often for example,
rates of syphilis among Black

men more than doubled since
2006
STI Testing Recommenda-
tions from the CDC:
Annual chlamydia screen-
ing for all sexually active wom-
en age 25 and under, as well as
older -women with risk factors
such as new or multiple sex
partners.
Yearly gonorrhea screen-
ing for at-risk sexually active
women.
Syphilis, HIV, chlamydia,
and hepatitis B screening for
Please turn to STI 14B

a serious pelvic infection and
infertility in '.omen.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Pre-
vention, most sex-ually ac-
tive people will have HPV in
their lifetime. Those with a
normal immune system will
typically clear the virus from
their bodies within two years.
There is no treatment for the
virus, but when the 'complica-
tions of HPV occur, such as
genital warts, cervical cancer,
penile cancer or oral cancer,
there are treatments for those

serious conditions
The other STIs that can't be
treated HIV, hepatitis B and
herpes always remain in the.
body. Treatment can only keep
the infections at bay and the
person can theoretically always
pass it to their partners.

YOUTH ARE MOST
AFFECTED
Half of all STIs occur among
youth 15 to 24 years of age.
This particular report did
not address Blacks, but it has
been previously shown that

By Dr. Tyeese Gaines

Nearly 20 million new sexu-
ally transmitted infections
(STls) occur each year, says
a new report. This includes
syphilis, gonorrhea, hepatitis
B, HIV. chlamydia, trichomoni-
asis, herpes simplex virus type
2 and the most common -
HPV.
These infections cost the U.S.

$16 billion in medical costs an-
nually, the report continues.
and 110 milhon infections ex-
ist at any given time keep-
ing in mind that one person
could have multiple infections
at once.
Four of the STis can be treat-
ed and cured if diagnosed early:
chlamydia. gonorrhea, syphilis
and tnchomoniasis. However.
if not caught early, .it can cause

As long-term-care-insurance
costs climb, families are turn-
ing to continuing-care retire-
ment communities (CCRC) as
an alternative.
Long-term-care insurance
generally pays for home care,
assisted living or skilled nurs-
ing when a policyholder suf-
fers from dementia or needs
help with at least two "activi-
ties of daily living," such as
8 bathing or dressing.
But insurers have been bat-
tered by low interest rates and
expensive claims, leading afew
large firms to quit selling new
policies in the past few years.
Others have jacked up rates
on existing policyholders.
That has led some famrihes
and financial advisers to look
for other ways to hedge against
the potential for late-ife cus-
todial care that can decimate
decades of retirement savings
in just a few years.

They offer a range of care depending on medical need,
from independent living to 24-hour skilled-nursing care.

Some families are choosing
CCRCs. They offer a range of
care depending on medical
need, from independent living
that appeals to some healthy
older adults seeking social
actiities, transportation or

meals to 24-hour skilled-nurs-
ing care.
Be warned: CCRCs don t
come cheap. The average en-
trance fee for a CCRC unit,
typically an apartment or a
\illa, is $280,000, according to

the National Investment Cen-
ter for the Seniors Housing
and Care Industry, a research
and data group in Annapolis,
Md., in addition to monthly
fees.
The communities come in
different flavors. Those that
offer "life care," or Type A,
contracts typically charge the
same monthly rate for an inde-
pendent-li'ing villa or for 24-
hour skilled-nursng care.
That means the only finan-
cial unknown is how long you
will live, rather than how much
your future care will cost. As
a gauge, the average monthly
rent at assisted-living facili-
ties hit $3,500 last Near, up
17 percent from 2008, outpac-
ing overall inflation, according
to the MetLife Mature Mar-
ket Institute's 2012 study of
long-term-care costs. (MetLife
stopped selling new long-term-:
care policies in 2011.)

Don't link violence with mental illness

By Wayne Lindstrom

Calls to make it easier to com-
mit people for involuntary men-
tal health treatment will do little
or' nothing to prevent violent
acts. It will only scare people
from seeking help voluntarily
and fail to increase the number
who are committed.
The premise that we can pre-
dict or prevent violent acts is
unsupported. Even in the case
of severe mental illnesses, men-
tal health professionals possess
no special knowledge or ability
to predict future behavior.
The fact is people with mental
health conditions are no more
likely to be violent than is the
general population. Continuing
to link' violence and mental ill-
ness only stigmatizes people and
deters them from seeking care.
Paradoxically, making it easier
to commit people to treatment
will not lead to more commit-
ments or more people getting
care. A chronically underfunded

.i .

-Photo credit: Jack Gruber
A mental health first aid class at Howard University in

Washington, D.C.
mental health system, which
has experienced $4.6 billion in
state budget cuts since 2009,
does not have the capacity to
meet those needs.
When Illinois lowered its stan-
dard to allow the commitment
of virtually every person with
schizophrenia and bipolar dis-
order, commitments decreased

because of the continued reduc-
tion in public and private inpa-
tient beds.
In Washington, a study of the
state's lowered commitment
standard revealed fewer volun-
tary admissions and a rapid in-
crease in the revolving door of
discharges and re-admissions.
In fact, the number of people

who meet existing commitment
standards in every state already
exceeds the beds available for
them.
It is highly unlikely we will in-
crease the number of psychiat-
ric beds. Nor should we.
Rather than forcing more peo-
ple into treatment, we should
dedicate adequate resources
toward prevention and early
identification of emotional dis-
turbances in children and fund
cost-effective community-based
interventions that work.
Just two-thirds of those with
severe mental illness and one-
third with moderate illness
receive appropriate services.
When care is provided, there is
a gap of up to 10 years between
their first symptoms and first
treatment.
Expanding access to care un-
der the Affordable Care Act and
mental health parity law will
serve people better than chang-
ing commitment laws that will
change nothing.

Black STI rate climbs

STI
continued from 12B

all pregnant women, and gon-
orrhea screening for at-risk
pregnant women at the first
prenatal visit, to protect the
health of mothers and their in-
fants.
Screening at least once a
year for syphilis, chlamydia,
gonorrhea, and HIV for all sex-
ually active gay men, bisexual
men, and other men who have
sex with men (MSM).
MSM who have multiple or

anonymous partners should be
screened more frequently for
STDs (i.e., at three to six month
intervals). In addition, MSM
who have sex in conjunction
with illicit drug use (particu-
larly methamphetamine use)
or whose sex partners partici-
pate in these activities should
be screened more frequently.
CDC recommends that all
adults and adolescents be
tested for HIV. Those at high
risk for HIV infection should be
screened for HIV at least annu-
ally.

Teen driving accidents

TEENS
continued from 12B

"doughnuts" (driving around in
circles) on purpose!
I'm not going to gang up on
teenagers because they are go-
ing to make mistakes and do
some stupid stuff, just like we
all did.
Angela Cutter

I have a daughter about to
turn 16, and I'm scared to
death.
Any suggestions about pro-
grams on driver safety?
I will not let her drive until I
know she is really ready.
Kelly Hayward

Address the drivers who are
not adequately in control of
their vehicles for any reason
- and apply the existing negli-
gent or reckless driving laws as
appropriate.
James Oerichbauer

I feel that cellphones
are to blame fof the rise
in deaths among teen driv-
ers as well as lax safety mea-
sures covering rookie drivers.
I have noticed people who
look like teens driving truck
talking on their cellphones,
they can hardly see over
the steering wheel. This is
a frightening picture as the
driver only has on hand on
the wheel.
I think 16- and 17-years-
olds should be forced to use
at least an earpiece when
talking on the cellphone
while driving until they have
more experience on the road.
Suzette Charne
Dallas

Could the increase in teen
driver deaths conceivably have
any relation to the iPad/tablet
craze of late?

Certification received for stroke centers

NSMC
continued from 13B

the Establishment of Pri-
mary Stroke Centers." Cer-
tification is available only
to stroke programs in Joint
Commission-accredited acute

LILLIAN NEWBOLD
THURSTON,
86, retired
nurse, died
March 2.
Survivors are
children, James
Thurston, ,
Ottolita (Gary)
Thompson, and
David Gray; two.
brothers and one sister. Service 2
p.m., Saturday at Glendale Baptist
Church of Brownsville.

JOHNNIE WILLIAMS, JR.,
86, business
owner, died
February 24
at VA Hospital. .
Service 4 p.m.,
Saturday at
New Jerusalem.

LOUIS B. WALKER, 83, chef,
died March 1
at University of
Miami Hospital.
Service 11
a.m., Friday at
Jordan Grove
Missionary
B a p tist
Church.

We love and miss you Hulk
Power.
You will always be in our
hearts.
Love you, dad and husband.

In Memoriam

In loving memory of,

POPPA

Remembering you is easy
We do it every day
It's the pain of losing you
That will never go away!
In our Hearts you will be
Until we meet again!
We love you dearly Poppa.
Always have and always will
Your loving wife, children,
grand and great-grands

IN THE MIAMI TIMES HONORYOUR LOVED
ONE WITH AN
305-694-6225MEMORIAM
IN MEMORIAL

Willie Wanza, Jr.: Coach,

mentor and family man

James Willie Wanza, Jr.
was born on January 3, 1951
to James W. Wanza, Sr. and
Fredericka D. Wanza. He was
educated in the Miami-Dade
County School system and
graduated from his beloved Mi-
ami Northwestern High School
and Florida Mechanical & Ag-
ricultural University. James
always had a strong work ethic
and started his career with the
City of Miami. He later worked
for Jobs for Miami, OIC and fi-
nally Miami-Dade County Pub-
lic Schools where he was em-
ployed as a special education
teacher for over 15 years and
called "coach" by his students.
"Butch" loved his family and
friends; he loved life and was
always striving to make every-
one happy. He enjoyed fish-
ing, football and spending time
cooking for his children, grand-
children, family and friends. He
was a loving coach, mentor and
friend.
James departed this life on
March 1st and transitioned to
his new home with the Lord. He
is survived by mother, Frederic-
ka Wanza; sister, Theta Wanza;
daughters, Diana Wanza, Kim
Wanza, Stephanie Wanza, and
Andrea Wanza Fraser (Rawle);
son, Eric Wanza; grandchil-
dren, Tim Wanza, Eric Wanza,
Jr., Keyshawn Wanza, Joi Wan-

)i

WILLIE WANZA, JR.

za, Gabrielle Wanza and Alex-
andrea Fraser; nieces, Tammi
Saffold (Michael) and Eloria
Downs; cousins and extended
family members.
He will forever be remembered
as a loving father, son, brother,
friend and mentor. He will for-
ever be missed by all who loved
and knew him.
A memorial service 6 p.m.,
Friday, March 8 at Miami Carol
City High School to celebrate
his life. Public visitation 4-9
p.m. at the funeral home.
Service 11 a.m., Saturday
at Antioch Missionary Baptist
Church of Miami Gardens.

Cleotha Staples, original

member of the Staples

Singers dies at 78

By Caryn Rousseau

CHICAGO In a family of vo-
calists, it was Cleotha Staples'
smooth and velvety voice that
helped set apart the sound of
the influential and best-selling
gospel group The Staple Sing-
ers.
Staples, the eldest sister and
member of the
group her father :
Roebuck "Pops"
Staples started in
the 1940s, died
Thursday at age
78. She was at her
Chicago home and i' ,
had been suffering
from Alzheimer's
disease for the
past decade, said
family friend and
music publicist
Bill Carpenter. STA
The group in-
cluded sisters Pervis, Yvonne,
Mavis and Cynthia, but Cleotha
was the backbone, defining her-
self by being the "strong, silent
type," said Carpenter, author of
"Uncloudy Day: The Gospel Mu-
sic Encyclopedia."
"When she was young they
used to call her granny because
she acted like a granny in terms
of being wise and always sure of
the best thing to do," Carpenter
said.
Mavis Staples credited her
father's guitar and Cleotha's
voice with creating the group's
distinctive sound.
"A lot of singers would try to
sing like her," Mavis Staples
said in a statement. "Her voice

In Memoriam

In loving memory of,

ELAINE PHILLIPS
03/25/1950 02/28/2011

We love and miss you very
much.
Love, your family.

would just ring in your ear. It
wasn't harsh or hitting you
hard, it was soothing. She gave
us that country sound."
Staples, known as "Cleedi,"
was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame with her fam-
ily in 1999 and received a life-
time achievement award from
the Grammys in 2005. The Sta-
ple Singers gained
a huge audience
with their first No.
1 hit "I'll Take You
There" in 1972 and
followed with top
40 hits "Respect
Yourself," "Heavy
Makes You Hap-
S py," and "If You're
Ready (Come Go
With Me)."
The family's mu-
sic career had its
'LES roots with Pops
Staples, a manual
laborer who strummed a $10
guitar while teaching his chil-
dren gospel songs to keep them
entertained in the evenings.
They sang in church one Sun-
day morning in 1948, and three
encores and a heavy church of-
fering basket convinced Pops
music was in the family's fu-
ture.
The Staple Singers was born.
Two decades later the group
became an unlikely hit maker
for the Stax label. The Staple
Singers had a string of Top 40
hits with Stax in the late 1960s,
earning them the nickname
"God's greatest hitmakers."
When the children were
younger, it was Cleotha's high
voice that influenced Pops Sta-
ples' guitar playing and in turn
influenced The Staple Singers
sound, Carpenter said.
"When Pops used to sit them
Iin a circle and play music with
them he was sort of feeding off
of her voice," Carpenter said. "It
was high in a light way, sort of
Soothing and velvety so his gui-
tar playing bounced off of that."
Cleotha Staples was born
April 11, 1934, in Drew, Miss.,
the first child of Pops and his
wife, Oceola. Two years later,
the family moved to Chicago,
where Pops worked a variety
of jobs performing manual la-
bor and Oceola worked at a
hotel. Chicago also was where
the family's four other children
were born.
Pops and Mavis primarily took
the lead on the group's vocals,
but a 1969 recording of duets
featured Cleotha's voice on the
song "It's Too Late," a bluesy
ballad about a lost love.

P

THIIE NAH\ION' S #1 BI.ACK NEWSPAPER

16B THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

V

0

The Miami Times

Lifest l e
y9Sirpyv

FASHION HIP HoP MusIc FOOD DINING ARTS & CULTURE PEOPLE

SECTION C

MIAMI, FLORIDA, MARCH 6-12, 2013

THE MIAMI TIMES

By D. Kevin McNeir
A tlbll irA'AtOnail l ,lllit',i ll/lliC'.com

ift you haven't seen AAPACT's stirring
salute to one of Black America's most
talented writers, James Baldwin, you
are missing a real treat. The Amen Corner,
Baldw\in's play, about the two-edged sword
of righteousness, is an emotional story

n production
about ith, redemption and the impact o
poverty on the Black family, placed in the
setting of a Harlem-based Black Pentecos-
tal church.
The show is currently on stage at the
African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in
Liberty City [6161 NW 22nd Ave.]. AAPACT
founder and producing artistic director
Teddy Harrell, Jr., produced and directed
the play.
"Baldwin's words are timeless and are
remarkable, rich and culturally entertain-
ing," Harrell said. "He provides us with a
view of what went on in the Black Pente-
Please turn to AAPACT 3C

Zoe Saldana finally

responds to backlash

By Kunbi Tinuoye

Zoe Saldana has finally responded to critics
who have been fuming since it was announced
that the Avatar star would be replacing Mary
J. Blige in the upcoming Nina Simone biopic.
Simone was a dark skinned woman with
broad features, who was a champion of em-
bracing her Black features. Saldana is light-
skinned, with Puerto Rican and Domini-
can heritage.
In an interview with HipHollywood at a pre-

say she does not bear any resem-
blance to the legendary soul singer.
A petition has even been started on
Change.prg asking the filmmakers to
replace "Zoe Saldana with an actress
who actually looks like Nina Simone
So far, there are more than 10,000
signatures.
Fans have argued that a host of sud t-
able Black actresses would have been a
better fit; including the likes of Kirn berl
Elise, Viola Davis, India Arie or Adeper:

PETER LONDON

LOCAL DANCER

FEATURED IN NEW

LONDON PREMIER

Spring showcase includes
new works and guest artists
Miami Times staff report
Miami's own Peter London Global Dance
Company, Inc. [PLGDC] returns to the stage on
Sunday, March 10, to premiere its highly-antici-
pated Spring Dance Showcase. The multicultural
group of young artists, under the artistic direc-
tion of world-renowned dancer and choreogra-
pher Peter London, will present two powerful
performances and new works at the Little Haiti
Cultural Center. The dancers will perform a
community matinee show at 1:30 pm for stu-
dents and seniors, while the evening showcase
will be held at 7:30 pm. London founded the
Peter London Global Dance Company, Inc. to
establish a home-grown, yet world-class contem-
porary dance organization that promotes South
Florida's vibrant arts heritage. He received an
invaluable boost when his company received the
2011 Knight Arts Challenge grant award.
"The Spring Dance Showcase realizes the mis-
sion of my company in a way that is bold, large,
Please turn to LONDON 3C

"I guess what kept me from being hurt by the negative comments was that I'm doing it for rmy
sistas and my brothas and I don't care who tells me I'm not this or I'm not that, I know who I
am and I know what Nina Simone means to me."

Oscar party, Saldana she said, "I guess what
kept me from being hurt by the negative com-
ments was that I'm doing it for my sistas and
my brothas and I don't care who tells me I'm
not this or I'm not that, I know who I am and I
know what Nina Simone means to me."
"I did it all out of love for my people and my
pride of being a Black woman and a Latina
woman and an American woman and that's
my truth," Saldana added.
Some have criticized the fact that Saldana is
not a singer, while others take issue with the
actress not being "dark-skinned enough" and

-ZOE SALDANA

Oduye to name a few.
The backlash intensified when images iof
Saldana transformed to resemble Simone
surfaced online. She was wearing a pros-
thetic nose and dark make-up and a n
Afro-style wig.
Singer-songwriter India.Arie
said at the time, "So today I saw
the images of Zoe Saldana as
Nina Simone...AND I THINK
THEY ARE RIDICULOUS," in a
caps-riddled post on Simone's
Please turn to SALDANA 3C

Keke Palmer reveals details on TLC movie

By The Huffington Post

Earlier this month it was an-
nounced that Keke Palmer (as
Chilli), Lil Mama (as Left Eye),
and Drew Sidora (T-Boz) are.set
to portray TLC in VHl's highly-
anticipated biopic, "Crazy, Sexy,
Cool: The TLC Story."
And with' production just
weeks away from beginning in
Atlanta, the trio is already prep-
ping for a rigorous schedule in
an effort to emulate the Grammy
Award-winning trio.
During last week's "ESSENCE

: KEKE PALMER
5

Black Women in Hollywood"
luncheon, Palmer revealed a few
details to celebrity gossip site,
The YBF, about the film.
I'm going to fly out tonight to
Atlanta and going to meet the
girls some time this week. The
first few of weeks were going
to be doing a lot of choreogra-
phy. I've already talked to Drew
[Sidora] and Lil Mama, and were
just going to get in there and
do it. All of us are fans, so that
gives it something. We want to
do great because we want to
represent who we love. This is

exciting for me, this is a really
huge deal.
Directed by Charles Stone III,
the film will focus on the group's
humble beginnings in Atlanta
and their meteoric rise to pop
culture fame.
"With this cast, we are thrilled
with the talent assembled both
in front of and behind the
cameras," Jeff Olde, Executive
Vice President of VHI's Original
Programming and Production,
Please turn to TLC 3C

like, you probably don't picture a woman.
But women operate more than
._ 30 percent of the more than
3 million farms in America-making
them a large part of raising your food.
Kristin Reese and Carrie Divine are two women whose
farming roots run deep. Kristin grew up on a farm in Ohio
and now has a farm of her own with her husband and
kids. Carrie is an eighth-generation farmer on her family's
land in Kentucky. Kristin and Carrie say the hardest part
of being a farmer is not the hard work, it's that today's
farming is often misunderstood. Some consumers often
think their food comes from large, impersonal corporations.
The fact is, 98 percent of farms and ranches in the United
States are family owned and operated. That's why Kristin
and Carrie joined CommonGround, a movement that
fosters conversations among farm women and women in ,
cities and suburbs around the country who want to know
more about their food.
Through local events and the website www.
FindOurCommonGround.com, women farmers share facts
about today's agriculture and dispel misconceptions about
modem farming.
American Lamb Arugula Salad with
Blackberry Vinaigrette
by Kristin Reese
Makes 4 servings
1 to 2 pounds sliced roasted lamb leg
2 bunches of arugula, washed and dried
10 ounces soft, mild goat cheese Blackberries
1/2 cup toasted pecans Salt and pepper to taste
Blackberry Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup blackberry preserves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh herbs, such as basil and
thyme Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 4500F.
Place lamb leg into a roasting pan and roast uncovered
for 20 minutes, or until a crust forms that will seal in the
juices. Lower heat to 3000F. Finish cooking (bone-in roast
requires additional 20 minutes per pound; boneless roast
requires additional
25 minutes per pound). Internal temperature should reach
1300 to 1350F for a medium rare roast.
Remove from oven and let rest
for 20 minutes before carving.
Carve against the grain about
1/2 inch thick per slice.
Whisk all Blackberry Vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl.
Arrange arugula in mounds on 4 plates with equal parts
goat cheese in center of each mound.
Arrange lamb slices around goat cheese and drizzle with
vinaigrette. Garnish with blackberries and toasted pecans.
ivine Serve with crusty French bread and a crisp Sauvignon
Blanc.

FoLake Fateru,
Oluwoloe Alle;
and The Violets
(Etta Maria
Brown, Joyce
Ferguson,
Wanda Mason
and Kenly
Frankin) sang
UNN hit melodies. The DEl
program ended
as Janice Harris honored Chief
Ifode for 25 years of service.
Dr. Astrid Mack, president
emeritus, King of Clubs
of Greater Miami has
announced that The Forum,

which was created by
the late Dr. Tee. S.
Greer, will be held,
March 7th, at 9 a.m.
S at Miami Central
Senior High. The
keynote speaker will
be Rev. Richard P.
Dunn. The program
ERITTE will include: John
McMinn and the
Miami Central Marching Band;
Bessie LaGrant; Diamond
Farlow; Gregory Bethune,
principal; Dr. Mack; Dr. Edwin
T. Demerritte; and King of
Clubs members.

Apostolic Temple is
sponsoring a prayer week for
the prevention of HIV/AIDS,
from March 3-9, featuring The
Mass Choir from Ebenezer
United Methodist Church,
March 8.
The Louie Bing Scholarship
Fund, Inc. featured Dr. Steve
Gallon as the speaker at the
annual banquet on March 2 at
Florida Memorial University.
Honorees were: James Anders,
Wallace Aristide, Mario
Batiste, Jeff Bertani, Earl
Daniels, Allen Davis, Willie
Jones, and Priscilla Bailey.

Saxophonist Maceo Parker: A good soul

The musician Maceo Parker was a

pillar of James Brown's band

By Will Friedwald

'Maceo! I want you to blow!"
So James Brown began chant-
ing to his new saxophonist,
Maceo Parker, shortly after the
21-year-old musician joined
Brown's band in 1964. By regu-
larly calling out his name on re-
cords and in live performances,
Brown made Parker the band's
most popular member after the
star himself. It's impossible to
imagine Brown's soul and funk
hits, like "Papa's Got a Brand
New Bag" and "I've Got You (I
Feel Good)," without Parker's
distinctive solos: His tightly
focused yet ebullient sound
became synonymous with the
soul rhusic of an era. In 1968,
when the Brown troupe arrived
in Africa for the first time, the
crowds at the Abidjan airport
in Ivory Coast began chanting
"MA-CE-O, MA-CE-O!" as the
band disembarked.
Parker has long had a repu-
tation as one of the most de-
pendable men in the music
business, a player who made it
a point to avoid drugs, alcohol
and the other craziness that
affected so many of his friends.
His memoir, "98 percent Funky
Stuff: My Life in Music," helps
explain how he got that way.
Where many autobiographies

linger on unhappy beginnings,
Parker summarizes his own
succinctly and happily. Born
in North Carolina in 1943, he
enjoyed formal training and the
influence of musical mentor fig-

he can write about it in a mea-
sured way. This comes through
most clearly in his recollections
of his boss, James Brown. It
was actually Melvin who first
caught the bandleader's eye,
and when Brown hired the
drummer, Melvin talked him
into bringing Maceo along as
well.

Ready to Blow Maceo Parker performing in 1998.

ures, such as an inspirational
high-school band director. No
less important, he took advan-
tage of consistent early oppor-
tunities to play professionally.
He and his brother, the drum-
mer Melvin Parker, formed a
band called "The Junior Blue
Notes" in their early teens.
It is said that if you remember
the 1960s, then you couldn't
have been there. But Parker
was sober enough throughout
that tumultuous decade that

The author has nothing but
praise for Brown for running a
tight ship but also shows how
Brown could be a petty tyrant.
"His attitude was 'my. way or
the highway,' Parker writes.
"We were treated with increas-
ing dismissal and, at times,
outright disrespect." Parker
paints a convincing picture of
how Brown descended from a
star well-known for his stand
against narcotics to a serious

user who ultimately wound up
in jail and disgraced. It's a thor-
ough and unsparing portrait of
a complicated individual. Their
multi-decade collaboration was
interrupted first when Parker
was drafted and then, again,
when Brown's .temper and be-
havior drove his entire band
to quit en masse-in 1970. Yet
while Brown was incarcerated
on gun and drug charges, from
1988 to 1991, the saxophonist
composed a protest song that
entreated authorities, on top of
a funky beat, to "Let Him Out."
Parker paints a more sym-
pathetic portrait of the two
most famous other leaders he
worked with, George Clinton
and Bootsy Collins, who head-
ed up the various permuta-
tions of the group Parliament-
Funkadelic. He also describes
his own evolution from band
member to bandleader. "I want-
ed to develop something more
than the standard round-robin
format," he writes, "the kind of
show where everyone takes a
turn on every single song. .
. I wanted a Maceo show to be
about interaction and sponta-
neity."
Now 70, Maceo Parker con-
tinues to record and perform
(his latest album is "Soul Clas-
sics"). "Most of all," he writes
of his aspirations for his later
career, "I wanted my thing to
be about spreading love in the
world."

OWN announces Tyler Perry's new shows

By Tim Molloy

"Downton Abbey," meet Tyler
Perry.
Oprah Winfrey's OWN an-
nounced last year that the
filmmaker and "Madea" ac-
tor would make the first two
scripted shows for the network.
Last Saturday, it provided de-
tails. One of the shows, a dra-
ma called "The Haves and the
Have Nots," will follow the lives
of a rich family, the Cryers, and
their impoverished maid, Han-
na.
It's a familiar setup one
that. worked for "Upstairs
Downstairs" long before "Ab-
bey" borrowed it and fits
perfectly into Perry's series of
morality plays, in which righ-
teousness trumps wealth. Be-
sides a string of hit films, he
has previously produced sit-
coms for TBS.
Perry's other series for OWN,
"Love Thy Neighbor," is a com-
edy set at a neighborhood res-
taurant called Love's Diner.
Both shows will premiere May
29.
OWN detailed the Perry
shows at the Television Critics
Association winter press tour,

where it also announced four
new reality shows.
The Perry shows are a big step
for OWN, which has aired only
interview and reality shows
since its debut in Jan. 2011.
OWN's other new shows are:
"Blackboard Wars" (Pre-
mieres in March)
"Blackboard Wars" centers
on the dramatic transforma-
tion of New Orleans' John Mc-
Donogh High School, one of the
most dangerous and under-
performing high schools in the
country, where more than half
of its students fail to gradu-
ate. Granted unprecedented
access, the docu-series goes
behind the scenes following
education maverick Steve Barr
and no-nonsense principal Dr.
Marvin Thompson as they em-
bark together on an unpredict-
able mission to reinvent and re-
vive the struggling school. The
series is produced by Discovery
Studios.
"Golden Sisters" (Premieres
2013)
"Golden Sisters" is a real-life
comedy following the hilarious
adventures of Mary, Josie & Te-
resa, three sisters who shot to
fame after a web video of the

TYLER PERRY
ladies watching a celebrity sex
tape went viral. With Mary in
her eighties and her twin sis-
ters not far behind, these three
raucous women are not your
average seniors. Between run-
ning a successful salon and
giving colorful advice to their
growing online fan base, these
spirited, lovable ladies share
their outrageous opinions on
everything from sex and dat-
ing, to celebrities and pop cul-
ture. One minute they are at
each other's throats, and the
next they're best friends shar-
ing a lifetime of memories and
providing an endless supply
of laughs. Produced by LMNO
Productions.

"Raising Whitley" (Pre-
mieres 2013)
"Raising Whitley" (working
title) is a humorous and poi-
gnant new docu-series follow-
ing actress and comedienne
Kym Whitley and her chaotic
collective of friends whom
she calls "The Village" as
they attempt to do something
none of them have ever done
before: raise a baby . togeth-
er. When Kym signed up for the
Big Sister program to mentor a
troubled young girl, she never
imagined she'd get a call from
the hospital saying, "Your baby
is ready for collection." After
learning that her mentee exit-
ed the maternity ward leaving
only Kym's contact information,
Kym experienced a cataclysmic
moment. With less than an
hour to make a life-changing
decision and to do a lifetime
of soul-searching Kym chose
to become a mother. The Village
banded together to help Kym
bring up baby .Joshua Whitley
the best they know how, but
sometimes it's hard to tell who
is more mature baby Joshua
or the adults tasked with rais-
ing him. Produced by Pilgrim
Studios.

Playwright Baldwin tells a story like no other

AAPACT
continued from 1C

costal church in the 1960s with
much of the play based on his
own life. We thought that dur-
ing Black History Month there
was no better playwright to
showcase than him."
But how do you make a play
that's been around so long
and staged so many times new
again?
"For whites who are unfamil-
iar with the Black church, this
is a real eye opener," he said.
"But when Blacks see this work,
they will inevitably see them-
selves or someone they know in
one or more of the characters.
There are scenes that will make
you laugh but others that will
anger you, make you cry or ex-
pose the ugly, hypocritical side

of church life."

MORE ABOUT BALDWIN
AND THE ACTORS
The Amen Corner was Bald-
win's first attempt at theater
and was first published in 1954.
Scores of now famous Black ac-
tors have cut their teeth on the
leading roles of this play. Crit-
ics note that the passionate ca-
dences of the Black church are
key components of his writing.
But while he provided stunning
descriptions of racism in Amer-
ica, he was savagely criticized
by his own community for be-
ing an openly-gay Black man in
the turbulent 1950s and 1960s.
According to Harrell, "99 per-
cent of the actors in the play
are from South Floiida show-
ing that we have a lot of home-
grown talent."

Two of the actors bring per-
formances that are as good
as any we've seen. Brandiss
Seward [Sister Margaret] takes
the challenging lead role of the
church pastor and makes it her
own. She fights to hold on to her
church and her son who'has
strayed from the path of God,
while at the same time she must
confront her long-estranged
husband who comes home to
die. Seward is as good as it gets
in this role. The other stand-
out is Carolyn Johnson who
plays the church gossip, Sister
Moore. She is funny, expressive
and so real that with her first
words on stage, you'll be sure
to say, "Wow, I know her." The
tension that is maintained be-
tween Seward and Johnson is
pure magic. Harrell should be
proud of the chemistry that he

has brought to the stage. Other
actors of note include: Janet
Mason, Andre Gainey, Regina
and Lamar Hodges and Miami
Northwestern graduate Jeffrey
Cason, Jr., who plays the role
of David [Baldwin's self in the
production]. We see a bright
future ahead for Cason.
"In Baldwin's day, reading
was the way we were informed
and how we got the news,"
Harrell said. "He was one of
our heroes. Today singers, rap-
pers and entertainers domi-
nate the world. Rappers are
the Alice Walkers, Langston
Hughes and Baldwins for to-
day's youth. But there's always
room for a genius like James
Baldwin."
For info call (305) 456-0287
or go to www.aapact.com. The
play runs through March 17th.

Columnist takes brief hiatus
Anna Grace Sweeting will be taking some time for rest and
recuperation for the next several weeks. We look forward to her
return and her lively comments about the local church community
in People.

Michelle Williams' reality

series: 'My Sister's Keeper'
By Huffington Post into television with the eOne
family as well, with this se-
In the midst of starring in ries," Williams said in a press
the national tour of the Tony release. "Working together on
Award-winning musi- '- my new gospel album
cal, "Fela," Michelle and television series,
Williams is also set I am excited to share
to star in the forth- with everyone a behind-
coming reality series, the-scenes look at the
"My Sister's Keeper." inspiration and journey
The Entertainment .. of recording for the
One Television-pro- album, performing, fun
duced show, which family times and other
will premiere this WILLunforgettable experi-
summer in conjunc- ences out together with
tion with the release my dear sisters."
of her third gospel album, will In addition to the announce-
follow Williams and her sisters ment of Michelle Williams' new
as she balances family life and series', her Destiny's Child
the pressures of releasing a group mate Kelly Rowland is
new solo project. also hitting the small screen in
"I am very thrilled about BET's upcoming comedy pilot,
this opportunity, to extend "What Would Dylan Do?"

Saldana speaks finally

SALDANA
continued from 1C

official website.
"Yes there should be a movie
made, and YES they should
have chosen someone who
LOOKS like Nina Simone, ES-
PECIALLY since her RACE
played such a PIVOTAL role
in WHO, WHAT and WHY, she
was."
Simone's daughter, Lisa Sim-
one Kelly, said in an interview
with Ebony.com that although
she respected Saldana's craft "I
also know that there are many
actresses out there, known
or not, who would be great as

my mother."
She said her preferences
would be Kimberly Elise or Vio-
la Davis. "Both of the actresses
that I've mentioned are women
of color, are women with beauti-
ful, luscious lips and wide nos-
es, and who know their craft."
Still, others have come for-
ward to back Zoe in the part,
such as singer and actress Jill
Scott, who told Hello Beautiful
"Zoe is an incredible actress
- I think that she's a fine ac-
tress."
The unauthorized biop-
ic of Nina Simone, entitled Nina,
is scheduled to be released in
theaters later this year.

Dance company returns

LONDON
continued from 1C

passionate and honors the di-
verse heritage of South Florida
and America," London said.
"It is with the exceptional and
disciplined hard work of the
young dancers and choreogra-
phers that makes the dream a
reality."
Special guest performances
by two soloists from the Mar-
tha Graham Dance Company,
America's oldest and most pres-
tigious modern dance company,
will be featured this year. Lloyd
Knight and Mariya Dashkina

Maddux, will perform the ex-
quisite Graham duet "Conver-
sation of Lovers." The program
will also include a global pre-
iniere by PLGDC Artist Asso-
ciate and South Floridian La
Michael Leonard, principal
dancer and muse of New York
City's Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane
Dance Company. Three new
ballets choreographed by Lon-
don will also grace the stage
For more information includ-
ing a VIP reception sponsored
by the Greater Miami Chapter
of The Links, Inc., call (786)
953-6824 or e-mail miagdn-
swg@bellsouth.net.

Parker as TLC member

TLC
continued from 1C

said in a press release.
"TLC are truly music pio-
neers and this movie is a
fantastic way to expand our
scripted push by combining
our audience's passion for mu-
sic with their love of story. We
know our viewers will be eager
to go beyond the headlines and

into the surprisingly person-
al, never before told stories of
these groundbreaking women,"
Olde said.
Surviving members Rozonda
"Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-
Boz" Watkins are also among
the film's executive producers
and consultants. Tentatively
there is no set premiere date
for "Crazy, Sexy, Cool: The TLC
Story."

When the movie "The Harder
They Come" opened in New
York 40 years ago this month,
its impact wasn't immediately
felt in the U.S. The theme song
and soundtrack, however, were
a different story. The album
featured a compilation of sin-
gles by reggae artists as well
as a catchy title song by the
movie's star-singer Jimmy
Cliff. The song was quick to
.popularize the new Jamaican
music style, giving Mr. Cliff in-
ternational visibility. The film,
meanwhile, became an art-
house hit in college towns and
big cities, exposing a genera-
tion of Americans to reggae.
A handful of U.S. hits had
already featured Jamaican
beats-among them Millie
Small's cover of "My Boy Lolli-
pop" (1964), Desmond Dekker's
"The Israelites," the Beatles'
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (1968)
and Paul Simon's "Mother and
Child Reunion" (1972). But
the springy rhythms of "The
Harder They Come" opened the
door for a new wave that in-
fluenced rock, soul and punk,

from Eric Clapton's cover of "I
Shot the Sheriff' to the Police's
"Roxanne."
Last week, Cliff, 64, the title
song's singer and composer, ,
bassist Jackie Jackson, 66,
and guitarist Hux Brown, 68,
talked about the song's devel-
opment and its recording in
Jamaica. Cliff won his second
Grammy Award Sunday for
best reggae album, "Rebirth."
Edited from interviews.
Jimmy Cliff: In 1969, I was
at Dynamic Sounds Studio in
Kingston recording a song I
had written, "You Can Get It
If You Really Want." When we
finished, I walked outside and
met a gentleman named Perry
Henzell, who had been waiting
for me. He said he was making
a movie and asked if I could
write music for it.
By that point, I was pretty
well known in Jamaica and the
U.K. I had recorded quite a few
hits. I had always wanted to be
a movie actor, so I asked Perry
to send me the script. When
I read it, I felt I had known
Ivanhoe Martin [the main
character] all my life. In the
script, he was a guy from the

Jimmy Cliff in 1970.
country who came to the city
to make it as a musician but
was held back by the trickery
of a record-company owner.
Eventually Ivan turns to crime
and is killed at the end.
SI told Perry that the script
was great, and he decided
to cast me as Ivan. The film
at the time was called "Hard
Road to Travel," after one of my
songs, and we filmed over the
next year or so: When we shot

the scene where Ivan cuts the
bicycle-store owner who came
on really hard, a line came to
my mind-"the harder they
come." In real life, if you come
on hard like that, you're going
to die hard.
When I told Perry my line,
he loved it. He thought it was
a stronger film title and asked
me to write a theme song to go
with it. He didn't give me much
time-just two days-because
he wanted to film me singing it
in the studio with the band for
the movie.
The first development of my
song is actually in the mov-
ie-when the guitarist and I

JIMMY CLIFF
are rehearsing a song in the
church. That's an early draft of
"The Harder They Come." The
rest of the music came fast.
When I have a title, the rest al-
ways comes very fast. I'm quite
good at melodies.'
The lyrics came from my
past. I.grew up in the church
and had always questioned
what they were telling me. Like
the promise of a pie in the sky
when youdie. The second verse
about oppressors trying to

the map

keep me down kind of reflected
my own life-coming 'out of the
ghetto in Jamaica and fighting
the system. I wanted the song
to have a church feel and to
reflect the environment I grew
up in-the underdog fighting
all kinds of trickery.
What you see in the movie-
in the recording studio-is the
song being recorded. You're
watching the real thing. Glad-
stone Anderson was on piano,
Winston Wright was on organ,
Hux Brown was on lead guitar,
Ronny Bop played rhythm
guitar, Jackie Jackson was on
bass and Winston Grennan
was on drums.
Jackie Jackson: We were
studio musicians of that era
and had recorded with Jimmy
many times before. For the
theme song, we got together
at Dynamic Sounds around 8
p.m. Usually the band started
the day at 10 a.m. and record-
ed about 10 sessions. That's
how you made your money.
But on this day, we didn't have
any sessions and we were
fresh. The energy was flowing
and we were champing at the
bit.

SEATTLE The KlaasKids
Foundation unveiled a new set
of free online services parents
can use to preserve the online
privacy of their mobile-device
using children.
Chief among the new tools
is free access to a powerful
Do Not Track tool, Cocoon
for KlaasKids, that empowers
parents to deflect and block
tracking mechanisms trig-
gered by websites and mobile-
device apps catering to chil-
dren 13 and under.
Websites run by Facebook,
Disney, Nickelodeon and
McDonald's, among others,
along with the data-collecting
activities of information gi-
ants Google and Acxiom, have
led to the pervasive online
tracking of children, say child
safety and privacy advocates.
The online advertising and
marketing industries routinely,
amass information about gen-

: i

Polly Klaas, age
murder.

"\
I

-Photo credit: Marc Klass
12, before her 1993 kidnapping and

der, age, preferences, favorite
online activities and even
physical location, via GPS
services on smartphones and
touch tablets, says Vernon
Irvin, CEO of Virtual World
Computing, developer of the
Cocoon online privacy apps.
While the commercial moti-
vation is to build brand loyalty
with youthful consumers, the
data being collected about
kids' online activities can also

easily be tapped by identity
thieves and child predators.
In 2011, the National Center
for Missing & Exploited Chil-
dren's CyberTipline (800-843-
5678) received its 1,318,842nd
report of suspected child
pornography and other child
sexual-exploitation crimes.
Researchers at the center's
Child Victim Identification
Program in 2011 analyzed
Please turn to TOOL 10D

Talley headed for late-night TV
By David Lipke show that blends Dick ..' ranging from designers
Cavett's approach to .. to musicians to politi-
Andre Leon Talley is aiming eloquence and sophis- *,. cians," he noted.
to bring his larger-than-life tication with unparal- Talley has already
persona to the small screen, leled access into my ~ .: racked up a string of on-
The voluble Vogue contributing international fash- screen credits, serving
editor has inked a deal with ion lifestyle. A forum as a fashion correspon-
production company Electus to where unique stories i dent for Entertainment
develop a late-night talk show. will be told and inspi- TALLEY Tonight since last year,

Electus, a partnership between
former NBC Entertainment co-
chairman Ben Silverman and
IAC Corp., has co-produced
"Fashion Star," "Mob Wives"
and "Teen Wolf." Silverman has
also been an executive produc-
er on "The Office," "Ugly Betty"
and "The Biggest Loser."
Talley will serve as execu-
tive producer of the potential
chat-fest, along with Electus.
He said his goal is to create "a

rations shared."
Marc Beckman of DMA Unit-
ed brokered the deal between
Talley and Electus. Beckman
said the show was still in the
early stages of development but
would likely be geared towards
a cable network.
"We think a television plat-
form is an ideal showcase for
Andre's personality to shine
and bring together his amazing
network of personal contacts,

as a judge on "America's
Next Top Model" [2009-2011]
and a red-carpet critic for
ABC's coverage of the Academy
Awards in 2007.
He videotapes a regular
series for vogue.com called
"Mondays With Andre," and
he's scored cameos on the big
screen in "Sex and The City:
The Movie," "The September Is-
sue" and "Valentino: The Last
Emperor."

Older schools in Broward
County are caving in to years
of deferred maintenance.
Ceiling tiles sag and crum-
ble when it rains. Students
and teachers say they're sick
from poor air quality and must
trek through puddles to get to
their classrooms, often sitting
in hallways for lunch because
there's no dry place to eat..
"It's bad, but it's going to get
worse," Superintendent Robert
Runcie said. "The longer you
put things off... the hole's just
going to get larger."
The school board discussed
its budget priorities for the next
five years, conceding there's
not enough funds to properly
maintain the district's 2,400
buildings. Without a major
boost in state funding, Runcie
said the district may ask lo-
cal taxpayers to foot the bill.
Some members of the district's
facilities task force want un-
derenrolled schools to be shut
down and the savings used to
fix crumbling schools.
"Someone's going to have to
make that tough decision. If we

can't maintain schools that we
need, we certainly can't main-
tain those we don't need," said
Andrew Ladanowski, chair-
man of the task force.
State cuts to the capital bud-
get in 2008 forced the district
to slash $1.8 billion in con-
struction projects, including
replacing 18 older schools.
But even after that, internal
auditors found the building
department mistakenly over-
paid contractors, mismanaged
contracts and skirted laws and
policies.
"Everyone keeps blaming the
state," Ladanowski said. "We
have to take responsibility of
how we mismanaged that mon-
ey."

NORTHEAST HIGH
When it rains at Northeast
High School in Oakland Park,
students give each other piggy
back rides between classes to
avoid wading in a foot of water.
Leaks in the roof create holes
in classroom ceilings, and the
air conditioner in one building
must be turned up full blast to
keep back the threat of mold.
"Is it fair? No, I don't think
so, but unfortunately, the kids
have gotten used to it," princi-
pal Jonathan Williams said.
Northeast, built in 1962,
was scheduled to undergo a
full replacement in 2008, but
budget cuts forced the $28
million project to be put on

?.r ,

.. s

Northeast, Stranahan and Deerfield are old schools in the
district that are slowly deteriorating.

hold. Since then, the district
has made only short-term fixes
to the school's ailing infra-
structure.
"We are doing safe, healthy,
accessible and very, very little
else . we are just meeting
basic needs," said Sam Bays,
director of physical plant op-
erations. He said there's more
than $38 million of deferred
maintenance costs that the
district simply can't afford to
do.
Student Martin Valderruten
says he chooses to attend the
school because of its highly
rated magnet program. But he
adds, "I see a lot my friends
go to Douglas and Monarch,
and seeing their schools ... it
makes me feel kind of upset,
like why? I mean I go to a
great school; why can't I have

those nice things?"

DEERFIELD BEACH HIGH
At Deerfield Beach High
School, the weather determines
where you eat lunch.
Students cram into hallways
on rainy days because the caf-
eteria can hold only 400 of the
school's 2,400 students, and
picnic tables outside offer no
protection from the rain.
Students navigate their way
across puddles of water to get
to portable classrooms. On re-
ally bad days, teachers who
work in portables must move
their lessons to empty class-
rooms or sometimes the audi-
torium.
"It definitely affects the flow
of teachers," principal Jon Mar-
low said. "It's distracting."
Broken asphalt at the school

KURBEKI KULNCIE
School Superintendent
and uneven surfaces caused by
large tree roots pose a hazard
to students. But at least one
section is slated to be repaved,
officials said.
The district says it can fund
only its top priorities, the issues
of indoor air quality, safety and
meeting ADA requirements.
The school also is expected to
get an exterior paint job af-
ter a 10-year wait to fix mul-
tiple cracks in the walls. These
cracks allow moisture to seep
in that potentially could cause
mold.

STRANAHAN HIGH
During a Black History
Month celebration at the Fort

Lauderdale school, the shoddy
sound system gave out once
again shooting piercing feed-
back through the auditorium.
"It was loud," said assistant
principal Elvin Hazell, and the
speakers are always malfunc-
tioning.
Much of the equipment at
Stranahan is more than 20
years old and some dates back
to the 1950s, when the school
was built.
Students have no way to keep
score during football games
because the scoreboards don't
work. The old track prevents
the school from hosting its own
meet, and'broken blinds in the
classrooms present a safety is-
sue.
"This is a security hazard.
Whenever there is a code red is-
sue . everybody is supposed
to hide, so where do you hide?"
Hazell asked.
While the school boasts a
medical and engineering mag-
net program that constantly
earns top marks in regional
competitions, the school's con-
ditions don't match.
There's no air conditioning
in the cafeteria kitchen, no
dry route for kids to get to the
buses when it rains, and aging
computers have scratched up
monitors and keyboards, with
their speakers blown out.
"Our kids deserve better,"
Hazell said. "But we make do
with what we have."

College financial data site now online __ _

Scorecard allows

cost comparisons
By Jens Manuel Krogstad

DES MOINES, Iowa Fami-
lies hunting for colleges can
now find financial information
like cost, average student debt
and loan default rates of indi-
vidual.institutions at a single
federal website.
The College Scorecard is
designed to help families fig-
ure out where to get "the most
bang for your educational
buck," said President Barack
Obama, who talked about the
scorecard at his State of the
Union address Tuesday.
The resource, launched
recently by the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education, is part of
a broader push by the Obama
administration to lower the
cost of college as Americans
increasingly worry about their
ability to afford higher educa-
tion.

Graduates in 2011 accumu-
lated an average of $26,600
in student loan debt, up more
than five percent from the year
before, according to the In-
stitute for College Access and
Success in Washington, D.C.
The president, in his speech,
pushed for measures of afford-
ability and value that would

ful because it shows the ability
of graduates to repay what
they borrow to earn a college
degree, said Tom Delahunt, a
vice president for admissions
at Drake University in Des
Moines. Students who don't
find jobs or land only low-
paying jobs upon graduation
are more likely to struggle to

The College Scorecard is designed to help
families figure out where to get "the most
bang for your educational buck."
-President Barack Obama

factor into which colleges
receive federal aid. He also
warned Congress against some
cuts to nori-defense programs,
among them higher education
and university research.
The College Scorecard re-
ceived mixed reviews Tuesday
from parents, students and
higher education experts.
The loan default rate is help-

repay loans, he said.
Taking steps to simplify
information and increase
transparency, in general, helps
families through what is often
a stressful time, Delahunt
said.
"Anything that can help
families wade through all the
noise of the college search pro-
cess is a good thing," he said.

Delahunt cautioned that
some data on the website, in
particular the net price of a
college, are several years old.
Universities, as a result, may
have to explain to families
why the prices they saw on the
website is lower than the cur-
rent costs, he said.
Data on wages for first jobs
is a key missing piece of the
website, said Mark Schneider,
vice president at the Ameri-
can Institutes for Research in
Washington, D.C. The Obama
administration said it plans to
publish information on earn-
ings potential in the coming
year.
In addition, data on average
debt and monthly repayments
lack context, Schneider said.
"I don't know if a monthly-
payment of $500 is a lot or a
little in relation to wages," he
said.
The College Scorecard web-
site also doesn't allow side-by-
side comparisons of schools,
said Schneider.

Study: Better TV might improve kid's behavior

By The Associated Press

Teaching parents to switch
channels from violent shows to
educational television can im-
prove preschoolers' behavior,
even without getting them to
watch less, a study found.
The results were modest and
faded over time, but may hold
promise for finding ways to
help young children avoid ag-
gressive, violent behavior, the
study authors and other doc-
tors said.
"It's not just about turning off
the television. It's about chang-
ing the channel. What children
watch is as important as how
much they watch," said lead
author Dr. Dimitri Christakis,
a pediatrician and researcher
at Seattle Children's Research
Institute.

,I :
i, 1

./I r
. ~

"It's not just about turning off the television. It's about
changing the channel."
The research was to be pub- diaries and questionnaires
lished online last Monday by measuring their child's behav-
the journal Pediatrics. ior.
The study involved 565 Se- Half were coached for six
attle parents, who periodically months on getting their three-
filled out television-watching to-five-year-old kids to watch

shows like "Sesame Street"
and "Dora the Explorer" rather
than more violent programs
like "Power Rangers." The re-
sults were compared with kids
whose parents who got advice
on healthy eating instead.
At six months, children in
both groups showed improved
behavior, but there was a little
bit more improvement in the
group that was coached on
their TV watching.
By one year, there was no
meaningful difference between
the two groups overall. Low-in-
come boys appeared to get the
most short-term benefit.
"That's important because
they are at the greatest risk,
both for being perpetrators of
aggression in real life, but also
being victims of aggression,"
Christakis said.

Reading interventions for teens aren't working

By Cara Gipson

It's exciting when a child
learns to read-combining let-
ters and sounds to form words
for the first time until they're
stringing those words together
to create sentences. But what
happens when a child goes
from "getting by" in the early
grades to struggling in adoles-

cence when cognitive demand
increases along with the dif-
ficulty of required texts?

HOW ADOLESCENT LEARN-
ING IS DIFFERENT
There are important differ-
ences between childhood and
adolescent brain function, and
developmentally appropriate
regression in abilities such

as impulse control can affect
adolescent learning.
What changes in the
adolescent brain can affect
academics, attention and other
cognitive skills?
Why does the adolescent
learner often plateau and in
some cases even decrease in
certain skills?
Why are so many reading

interventions failing to make
a difference, and what can be
done?
Understanding what's hap-
pening in the adolescent
brain can give you the tools to
educate your students, sup-
port them in their struggles,
and provide the help they need
to get back on track academi-
cally.

College Board gets a

new social justice lead

By Joy Resmovits

The College Board, the
organization best known for
bringing you the SATs and
Advanced Placement exams,
is trying to branch out -
into civdi rights work.
The SATs were first cre-
ated to help level the college
admissions playing field
for students from all back-
grounds and incomes But
critics contend that the goal
has been sullied by test-
preparation opportunities
that benefit wealthier stu-
dents.
Now, David Coleman,
the organization's recently
installed president, told The
Huffiigton Post that he s cre-
ating a new position called
a "senior fellow for social
justice." which ill function
as a "strong internal and
external advocate."
"The resources will be
substantial," Coleman said
Wednesday. Although he
didn't offer a precise dollar .
figure, he said "it is to be
counted in the millions."
The new direction comes
as the College Board rede-
signs the college entrance
exam to "align it more deeply
with the work [that] kids
are doing in school so there
doesn't need to be last-min-
ute preparation outside the
schoolhouse," Coleman said.
"We must be very cautious
that forces like test prepara-
tion or other forces do not
unequal this playing field."
Amy Wilkins will be filling
the new position. She served
as vice president for the
Education Trust for 16 years
and has worked at organiza-
tions such as the Children's
Defense Fund, the Peace

Corps and the Democratic
National Committee. Wilkins
is a prominent education
and civil-rights lobbyist and
advocate, having launched
campaigns on saving Pell
Grants and shaped aspects
of the Higher Education Act
and No Child Left Behind.
"For me, it is a perfect
place to be to advance an
agenda about low-income
kids and kids of color,"
Wilkins said. "They [the Col-
lege Board) touch them more
directly than I was ever able
to. at EdTrust "
Coleman and Wilkins are
both interested in addressing
the issue that low-income
and minority students often
attend universities that are
far less selective than those
they qualify for what one
College Board official de-
scribed as the "distressing
results" for minority stu-
dents on AP exams.
Wilkins said she'll need
some time to work with her
new colleagues to develop
her specific plans, but for
now, there are clear issues
of inequity she's targeting. "I
want to find Black kids who
should be in AP classes but
aren't and get them in." she
said. "There's lots in that
data that needs to be acted
on. If they're in the mood to
act, so am I." Eventually, she
said, she wants to work with
Coleman to create metrics
of success for the College
Board around closing some
of these gaps.
"These students are within
our care, and we observe
patterns that are unequal,"
Coleman said. "We are going
to act to ensure that these
kids have the opportunities
they need."

5C THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

THE NATION'S #1 BLACK NEWSPAPER

~

i;
i
i Ii i

S

Business

7A

Opa-locka initiative offers

skills training and jobs

First Source Hiring Program benefits unemployed and

local businesses '

Miami Times staff report

Concerned about the City
of Opa-locka's unemploy-
ment rate, which is twice the
national and Miami-Dade
County [M-DC] average, City
of Opa-locka Vice Mayor Jo-
seph L. Kelley recently spon-
sored a resolution to establish
employment opportunities for
residents by partnering with
the South Florida Workforce
Investment Board [SFWIB].
The new initiative will pro-
vide access to training, skills
development and work experi-
ence to the City's unemployed,
while supplying a proficient
workforce to local businesses
under what is titled the First
Source Hiring Referral Pro-
gram.
The partnership was first
started last December when

Hired workers

Kelley directed the city man-
ager to implement a sidewalk
installation and repair pro-

'I'-

-Photo courtesy Christina Gordon
receive on-the-job training.

gram that hires qualified resi-
dents of the City to perform
the work. Within two-weeks of

introducing the extended reso-
lution, the City had filled four
of the five positions available
through the program, with
residents who would perform
structural improvements by

removing old existing dam-
aged sidewalks, that over a
period of time and through
deterioration, have become
a hazard. Workers receive
"On the Job Training" (OJT)

to make repairs by framing,
pouring and leveling new
walkways.
This "paid work experience"
project is managed by the
Please turn to JOBS 8D

MDC Wolfson to launch

business workshops

Miami Tim s _sta ffrT.porr

This spring, Miami Dade
College's IMDCI acclaimed
School of Business will offer
free workshops to small and
moderate size businesses in
Allapattah, Overtown. Down-
town Miami and surrounding
areas, as well as specific ar-
eas of Miami Beach, as part
of its Small Business Educa-
tion Program, sponsored by
Citi Foundation.
Beginning in March. the
free business seminars and
workshops will be offered
in English and Spanish for
existing and potential entre-
preneurs.
The first seminars for exist-
ing businesses only will be
held on Tuesdays: March 12.
19. and 26, 2013. from 5-30
p.m. to 9 p.m. Topics will in-
clude finances and capital re-
sources, marketing, customer
service, and much more.

This year's workshop for
entrepreneurs will offer
information about opening a
business and a home-based
business, as well as inform-
ing businesses of the basics
of creating a business plan
framework. Potential busi-
ness owners are welcomed to
attend this workshop April
23, from 5-30 to 9 p m.
All workshops will be held
at MDC's Wolfson Campus,
300 NE 2nd Ave., rooms
3208 and 3209, in downtown
Miami.
Participants must regis-
ter online in advance for all
events by visiting the Small
Business Education Pro-
gram's website at: www.mdc.
edu/smallbusiness
"The collaboration of Miami
Dade College and Citi Foun-
dation has made it possible
once again, to bring to the
community programs that
Please turn to MDC 8D

By Charlene Crowell
NNPA Columnist

Although Feb. 14 is typi-
cally remembered for Valen-
tine Day, this year that date
brought new findings on the
cumulative costs of the Great
Recession $13 trillion in
cumulative losses in house-
hold wealth and high unem-
ployment are the result of the
Great Recession, according to
a new Government Account-
ability Office (GAO).
Earlier research by the Cen-

ter for Responsible
Lending found that
the spillover effects
of foreclosures wiped
out nearly $2 tril-
lion in family wealth.
From 2000-2010,
Black family wealth
dropped 53 percent,
and Hispanic fami-
lies lost 66 percent.
By comparison,
average white house-

Home prices in Broward
continued their surge into
the new year with the
median sales prices on
single-family homes jump-
ing 24.5 percent in January
compared with a year ago,
the Greater Fort Lauderdale
Realtors said.
The median house price
catapulted to $224,088 last
month, up from $180,000
in January 2012, the group
reported. The median price
for condos and townhomes
jumped even more 26.5
percent during the same
period. Palm Beach Coun-
ty's median sales price of.
single-family houses also
surged, up from $179,950 to
$218,000.
Median price means half

the homes sold for less and
Half sold for more.
Overall, the housing mar-
ket in South Florida con-
tinued to rebound with the
number of closings, pending
sales and newlistings up for
every sector single-family
homes, townhomes and con-
dos, Realtors in both coun-
ties reported.
"The market clearly is -
and has been for the last
six, seven months clearly
trending up." said Bill Rich-
ardson of Keyes Realtors in
Boca Raton.
A sign of a sellers' market:
Inventory was down 26.5
percent from a year ago, i ith
Broward houses only having
a 3.8 months' supply.
"We're having bidding wars
break out." said Deerfield
Beach analyst Jack McCabe.

Foreclosure deal delivers $3.6B in cash

Relief terms

shock consumer

advocates
By Julie Schmit

Consumer advocates say
banks getting off too easy in
reworked foreclosure settle-
ment.
A foreclosure settlement
between the government and
13 banks will spread $3.6 bil-
lion in cash among millions
of borrowers starting in April,
regulators said last Thursday.
But the $5.7 billion in mort-
gage relief that's also part of
the deal may favor borrowers

The cash will be split among 4.2 million borrowers who
were in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010

with the biggest unpaid loan
balances, consumer advocates
say.
The settlement, first an-
nounced in January, is intend-
ed to compensate borrowers
for foreclosure and mortgage
servicing abuses.
The cash will be split among
4.2 million borrowers who were
in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010
and had home loans serviced
by one of 13 banks. They in-
clude Bank of America, Wells
Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase.
Cash payouts will range from
a few hundred dollars up to
$125,000, says the Office of
the Comptroller of the Cur-
rency (OCC). It's overseeing
Please turn to DEAL 8D

turn have turned
back the clock on
previous wealth
gains, especially
in communities of
color.
The GAO report
Swas performed at
the request of the
Senator Tim John-
son (SD), chair of
WELL the U.S. Senate
Banking Com-
mittee, and Rep. Michael
Capuano (Mass.), the ranking
member of the House Sub-

committee on Housing and
Insurance.
Responding to the report's
findings, Capuano said, "I
thank the GAO for this com-
prehensive report. Millions of
Americans lost their homes
to foreclosure, millions more
lost retirement savings and
too many Americans found
themselves unemployed...
. Any costs associated with
implementing Dodd-Frank
pale in comparison to the
trillions of dollars in losses
Please turn to CFPB 8D

Granville to lead

Dania Beach district

of Sheriff s Office

By Susannah Bryan

DANIA BEACH Kevin
Granville, a veteran of the
Broward Sheriff's Office,
will head the agency's Dania
Beach district.
Granville, 43, was 'ap
pointed to the $111,410-a-
year post last week with the
blessing of City Manager Bob
Baldwin.
"He has a great combina-
tion of youthfulness and.
experience," Mayor Walter
Duke said. "I look forward to
working with Chief Granville
to address chronic crime
issues that have plagued
our city for too long, namely
break-ins, drugs and prosti-
tution."
Duke described Granville
as professional and "genu-
inely concerned" about the
safety and welfare of the
residents of Dania Beach.
Granville began his career
with the Sheriff's Office at
21.
He hasworked in several

cities throughout the agen-
cy's empire, including Dania
Beach, Deerfield Beach,
Lauderdale Lakes, Pembroke
Park and Pompano Beach.
Granville is a member of
local Rotary and Kiwanis
clubs as well as the National
Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives.

Pressure high on Citizens

Chief Exec. Barry Gilway

Tallahassee keeps
tabs on insurance
company

By Maria Mallory White
and Kathleen Haughney

Lawmakers in Tallahas-
see continued to take on
Citizens Property.Insurance
Corp. last Thursday, and if
Senate president
Dan Gaetz has
his way, Citizens'
president will take a
turn in the hot seat.
Gaetz said that he
will ask the Senate
Banking and Insur-
ance Committee
to schedule con-
firmation hearings
for Citizens chief c
executive Barry
Gilway.
Gaetz, in a lengthy inter-
view with the Sun-Sentinel,
said that it was "hard to look
the people of Florida in the
eye and tell them Citizens
knows what it's doing."
Gaetz said the Senate has
the ability to hold confirma-
tions on Gilway, though he
does not believe it has done

so with prior Citizens presi-
dents. He said he doesn't
necessarily believe Gilway
wouldn't be confirmed, but
he wants the Senate to have
the opportunity to make it
clear they have some con-
cerns with the way the com-
pany isoperating.
"I think that's an oppor-
tunity for those of us who
are elected to make sure
that the person who is the
chief executive of
Citizens under-
stands exactly
how we feel about
all kinds of is-
sues associated
with the company
operational
issues as well as
S .strategic issues,"
SGaetz said. "And
kETZ it also provides,
I would hope, an
opportunity for us to clarify
that we hold the CEO of the
company responsible for its
performance because that's
the person we [would] con-
firm."
Gaetz's comments came on
a day Citizens faced a flurry
of attention from lawmakers.
In a morning session
Please turn to CITIZENS 8D

11:1
''
i'''
"' F
i;C

CFPB raises transparency to protect U.S.
CFPB raises transparency to protect U.S.

~Iall R
1
1

TH N(IN 1BAKNWPPR7 H IM IEMRH61,21

Big do-over issues on state legislative

Health care, taxes,

voting laws top list
By Aaron Deslatte and
Kathleen Haughney

TALLAHASSEE From
health care and insurance to
teacher raises and election
reform, the 60-day session
starting Tuesday could be a
political do-over for a Florida
Legislature looking to rewrite
some of its controversial re-
cent history.
For Gov. Rick Scott, it's a
chance to push his proposed
$1.2 billion increase in edu-
cation funding, including a
$2,500 raise for every public
school teacher, that's part of
a record $74.2 billion budget

proposal. Just
two years ago,
Scott controlled -
a budget that cut i'.
$1.3 billion from
spending for pub- .-
lic schools., -
For House and
Senate Repub-
lican leaders,
it's a chance to
undo some of the
changes in the SC
election law they wrote in
2011, which cut early voting
days in half and was blamed
for Election Day lines as long
as seven hours at some voting
locations in South and Cen-
tral Florida.
And for everybody espe-
cially Democrats who gained
seats in both chambers in

m
Id

r
0

the 2012 elections
it's a chance
to phase in the
S, provisions of the
federal health-care
,* overhaul known
as "Obamacare,"
which Scott and
GOP lawmakers
spent two years
S resisting in court.
With the U.S.
TT Supreme Court's
ruling upholding the law
and with President Barackl
Obama's re-election, the state
will have to implement the re-
quirements of the Affordable
Care Act, including deciding
whether to expand Medicaid
to some one million Florid-
ians who earn up to 138 per-
cent of the poverty level.

Scott last month
endorsed a three-
year expansion of
Medicaid, with the
federal government
promising to pick
up 100 percent of
the tab. An expan-
sion without an
expiration date
could cost the state
$3 billion or more
over 10 years. A

I

Lp .

decision from each chamber
could come soon.
Then there's the raft of
industry-driven issues. Tele-
communications companies
are pushing to cut or elimi-
nate the communications
services tax. Realtors are try-
ing to undo the sales tax on
rentals. Aerospace and film

companies are try-
ing to rewrite tax
incentives to deal
themselves bigger
benefits.
The Miami
Dolphins, Jack-
s sonville Jaguars,
Daytona Interna-
tional Speedway
and Major League
Soccer boosters in
MA Orlando each want
a $2 million annual sales-tax
rebate for their venues.
Insurers want another
crack at reshaping Florida's
no-fault auto-insurance law
to their liking, and to rein in
lawmakers' decision back in
2007 to expand the state-run
Citizens Property Insurance
Co.

agenda
Lawmakers could tweak
the "Stand Your Ground" gun
law in the wake of last year's
Trayvon Martin shooting in
Sanford and a subsequent
task force investigation of the
controversial law the GOP
pushed through in 2005. But
they might actually make it
easier to brandish firearms.
Finally, after years of
budget austerity, lawmakers
are eyeing a projected small
surplus to pump more money
into everything from universi-
ties to road building even
as many express doubts the
state can afford Scott's pro-
posed $2,500 raise for teach-
ers.
"If you look at our agenda,
it's packed full of big ideas,"
Please turn to AGENDA 10D

Men are finding a career niche in nursing Tax tip: Figuring out what

As the demand for care rises, more is your stock's cost basis
.. ..."."!' t '

males view job as
By Cathy Payne

A growing number of men
are joining the ranks of nurs-
ing, says a study that takes
the pulse of a predominantly
female profession.
The percentage of male
registered nurses jumped from
2.7 percent in 1970 to 9.6
percent in 2011, the national
study finds.
Men's representation among
licensed practical and licensed
vocational nurses rose from
3.9 percent in 1970 to 8.1
percent in 2011. LPNs work
under the direction of doctors
and registered nurses; they
are referred to as licensed
vocational nurses in California
and Texas. The study, presents
data from the 2011 American
Community Survey.
Liana Christin Landivar,
the report's author, says the
demand for long-term care and
end-of-life services is growing
because of the nation's aging
population.

attractive option
"A predicted shortage has led
to recruiting and retraining
efforts to increase the pool of
nurses," says Landivar, a soci-
ologist in the Census Bureau's
Industry and Occupation Sta-
tistics Branch. "These efforts
have included recruiting men."
Karen Daley, president of
the American Nurses Associa-
tion, says the profession is
attractive for a variety of rea-
sons. The work is rewarding
and versatile, she says: "This
is a career with job security,
and the salaries are very com-
petitive."
She adds that men "are
more likely to be in the sub-
fields with higher earnings -
nurse practitioners and nurse
anesthetists." Nurse anesthe-
tists administer anesthesia
and monitor patients' recovery
from it.
There were 3.5 million em-
ployed nurses in 2011. Though
women made up 91 percent
of the nursing workforce,
men had higher earnings. In

i-4--

K .

i, ,- -I...
Hs I

In 2011, men, on average, earned $60,700 a year, com-
pared with $51,100 a year for women.

2011, men, on average, earned
$60,700 a year, compared
with $51,100 a year for wom-
en. Other findings:
Of the employed nurses,
more than three-fourths were
registered nurses, about 19
percent licensed practical and
licensed vocational nurses,
and three percent nurse prac-
titioners. About one percent
were nurse anesthetists.
The highest percentage of
men was among nurse anes-

thetists, 41 percent.
Male nurse anesthetists
earned about $162,900 a year.
Daley says gender stereo-
types are breaking down as
more men enter the profes-
sion.
"The more diverse our pro-
fession gets, the better it is for
patients," she says.
"It's very important that our
diversification reflects what is
happening in the larger popu-
lation."

By Jeff Reeves

It's never easy for investors
to make money in the stock
market. And when they do,
the last thing most people
think about is how to report
those gains to the IRS.
. Unfortunately, the tax man
is eager to get his share after
you cash out an investment
win. And unless you want to
irritate the Internal Revenue
Service, it's important to ac-
curately report profits each
year to the penny.
. Calculating your gains
sounds deceptively simple:
Figure out the price at which
you sold your stock or mu-
tual fund (including commis-
sionsl. subtract "cost basis"
on your initial investment
and voila!
The organized inves-
tors out there have their
own foolproof system for
this, such as a color-coded
spreadsheet or a three-ring
binder with a printout of
every order ever placed with

their broker.
But for those of us who are
a little less fastidious, the
good news is that rebuild-
ing your cost basis isn t too
hard.
Begin by getting a record
of past transactions from
your broker. Frequently this
%will include your cost basis
right there but if not, it
will at the very least give you
the date of your transac-
tions
Next. always double-check'
your broker s statement to
ensure accuracy or to fill
in missing info if you only
have the date but no price
to go on. This is a simple
task thanks to the Internet;
just visit finance.yahoo.com
and enter the ticker of your
stock and click on -histori-
cal prices" to search. Yahoo
Finance provides an auto-
matically adjusted price for
dividends and stock splits in
its data. saving you a step if
any of these events apply
Please turn to TAX 10D

Stop guessing.

Start asking.

We all have questions about our

financial situation, but many times

we don't ask them. Now is the time

to change that. Come into your

local Wells Fargo for a personal,

one-on-one My Financial Priorities

conversation with a banker. We'll

listen to your questions and discuss

options with you that may help you

achieve your financial goals. No

matter what they are, big or small,

we're here to help.

Stop by your local Wells Fargo

or call 1-877-699-6816.

wellsfargo.com

Together we'll go far

ANN& illl

F~u~
~ -;*
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~-1
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THE NATION'S #1 BLACK NEWSPAPER

7D THE MIAMI TIMES, MARCH 6-12, 2013

I VELL FIG

8D THE MIAMI TIMES. MARCH 6-12. 2013 I THE NATIONS #1 BLACK NEWSPAPER

IRS getting serious about t

Florida tops U.S. :

in identity theft

complaints 1
By Associated Press .'

MIAMI (AP) With tax
filing season heating up, an
aggressive Internal Revenue
Service (IRS)-crackdown is
targeting the growing prob-
lem of criminals who use
stolen identities to seek tens
of thousands of dollars in
fraudulent tax refunds.
Acting IRS Commissioner
Steven T. Miller said last
Thursday that a Janu-
ary sweep in 32 states and
Puerto Rico identified 389 ID
theft suspects, including 109
who were arrested. The num-
ber of IRS ID theft investiga-
tions tripled in 2012 and is
focused on high-risk cities
such as Miami, New York,
Atlanta, San Francisco, Chi-
cago and Los Angeles.
In 2012, the IRS says its

IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller said Miami and
Tampa are the epicenters of the problem in Florida.

investigations and in-house
filtering systems prevented
$20 billion in would-be
fraudulent refunds, up from
$14 billion the year before.
But Miller acknowledged
that thieves still get away
with stealing numerous tax
refunds, although the IRS

could not provide exact loss
figures.
"In terms of how much
got past us, we're quite sure
some did," Miller told report-
ers in a conference call. "I
know it doesn't approach the
number that we stopped."
Like so many other types

ax fraud

of fraud, Florida again is a
national leader. Florida tops
the U.S. in identity theft
complaints at 178 for every
100,000 residents, according
to the Federal Trade Com-
mission. The Miami area
is even worse, at 324 com-
plaints per 100,000 resi-
dents. Miller said Miami and
Tampa are the epicenters of
the problem in Florida.
"Identity theft tax refund
fraud has spread though
South Florida like a virus,"
said Miami U.S. Attorney
Wifredo Ferrer, whose office
has prosecuted numerous
tax fraud cases.
Legitimate taxpayers
whose IDs are stolen often
must wait months to get
their refunds. Miller said
there's a current backlog of
300,000 cases and an aver-
age wait time of 180 days for
a resolution.
"I can say we are getting
much better," Miller said.
"We know that we need to do
much, much more."

City of Opa-locka stimulates new job growth

JOBS
continued from oD

City's Public Works Depart-
ment and the jobs are sub-
sidized from M-DC's People
Transportation Funds. Part-
time positions are from four
to six months depending on
available funds. After the
training is completed, those
becoming certified through
the program will be placed
in a very detailed-specific

tracking database system
to receive referrals and rec-
ommendation through the
First Source Hiring Pro-
gram, as permanent jobs
become available in and out
of the City of Opa-locka. In
their office at the Municipal
Complex building, 780 Fish-
erman Street, Suite 110, the
South Florida Workforce In-
vestment Board will make
available computer assis-
tance for program partici-

pants.
Residents registered with
the program (including
graduates), who have met all
qualifications, will be places
in the database of unem-
ployed persons of which SF-
WIB will make accessible
to the City of Opa-locka as
a first source for their em-
ployment needs, to fill jobs
which are created to satisfy
City contract requirements.
"This program will bring

the City a return on their
investment and offer its citi-
zens employment at home,"
Kelly said. "It's a win-win-
win opportunity for the City,
South Florida Workforce
and more importantly, for
the residents of the great
City of Opa-locka."
For more information on
the First Source Hiring Pro-
gram contact Cora Eutsay
at South Florida Workforce
305-953-3407.

Citizens CEO in hot water with the Senate

CITIZENS
continued from 6D

Thursday, the Senate Com-
mittee on Banking and In-
surance continued discus-
sion of its proposed massive
overhaul of the state's belea-
guered property insurer.
The committee's draft
bill, which is being quarter-
backed by committee chair
David Simmons, R-Altamon-
te Springs, "has a long way
to go," Gaetz told the Sun
Sentinel.
To get the bill passed, Gaetz

said he believes Simmons
will have to offer protections
for current Citizens policy-
holders who cannot get in-
surance elsewhere. With 1.2
million policies statewide,
Broward is home to 191,092
policies and 133,589 in Palm
Beach.
"My guess is he would look
for ways to soften any sig-
nificant increases on people
who were forced into Citi-
zens involuntarily. Involun-
tarily, and who have no other
options," Gaetz said.
"But, I believe that he will

be able to make a strong
case that new subscribers,
new customers to Citizens,
should be only those who
can't get their insurance
elsewhere in a competitive
market."
Also last Thursday, Sen-
ate democrats called on Gov.
Rick Scott to initiate a multi-
state agreement with Flori-
da's neighboring governors
for a regional approach to
catastrophic storm coverage.
"This problem is not
unique to Florida. Several
states along the southeast-

that have already occurred.
Congress must ensure that
Dodd-Frank is implement-
ed comprehensively and
effectively so that the tools
are in place to prevent an-
other crisis."
Despite the independent,
non-partisan GAO find-
ings, Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (CFPB)
opponents insistently call
for changes to Bureau, the
centerpiece of Dodd-Frank
Reform. These critics either
do not know or are ignoring
how the Bureau returned
$425 million in consumer
refunds and levied another
$70 million in fines for abu-
sive financial practices.

Nor would these critics
likely acknowledge that new.
CFPB rules will ensure that
no mortgage borrower will
be given an unaffordable
and unsustainable loan.
Thanks to CFPB, each
lender is now required to
determine and verify bor-
rowers' ability to repay be-
fore the loan is issued.
Additionally, consumer-
friendly changes in mort-
gage servicing means bor-
rowers will no longer incur
costly surprises with their
loans or be given a run-
around by a service.
Had CFPB and these
mortgage rules existed be-
fore the housing crisis hit,
communities of color would
not have been financially
devastated. Every con-

summer can be encouraged
by the Bureau's actions to
increase greater transpar-
ency in financial services,
coupled with common sense
rules of the road. America's
families need nothing less.
Responsible businesses
have recently begun speak-
ing up in defense of CFPB.
For example, John Arens-
meyer, founder and chief
executive of the Small Busi-
ness Majority, recently said,
"The financial industry
wrote its own rules for too
long. Honesty and trans-
parency are not too much to
ask from institutions that
helped run the economy
into the ground. Lawmak-
ers many of whom talk
a lot about protecting small
businesses should be the

first in line asking for more
accountability."
The U.S. Senate is charged
to advise and consent on
presidential nominees. On
Valentine's Day more than
half 54 in all wrote to
President Obama to express
their strong support for the
CFPB and Director Rich-
ard Cordray, advising, "One
of the most basic lessons
learned from the Great Re-
cession was that the failure
to adequately protect Amer-
ican consumers has con-
sequences not only for in-
dividuals and families, but
also for the health of Amer-
ica's economy. . A bipar-
tisan majority of Americans
support the agency as cur-
rently constituted, and so
do we."

Borrowers get millions in mortgage relief

DEAL
continued from 6B

the settlement with the Fed-
eral Reserve Board.
The companies are expect-
ed to meet their $5.7 billion
mortgage relief obligation,
in part, by modifying loans.
They'll earn certain levels of
credit toward that $5.7 bil-
lion for certain actions.
Consumer advocates said
they were shocked and dis-
mayed when they learned
how some of the credits will
be tallied.
For instance, a bank forgiv-

ing $15,000 in principal owed
on a $100,000 unpaid bal-
ance would get a $100,000
credit.
If the bank forgave $15,000
in principal on a $500,000
unpaid balance, they would
get a $500,000 credit,
says Bryan Hubbard, OCC
spokesman.
The OCC says the terms are
meant to drive modifications
that best serve borrowers.
Consumer advocates, how-
ever, say the system will lead
the banks to focus on high-
balance loans instead of
more smaller ones.

Plus, it'll let them inflate
the value of their modifica-
tions, says Alys Cohen, of
the National Consumer Law
Center. "It lets the banks off
easy," she says.
When the deal was an-
nounced, consumer advo-
cates said it included too
little money. The new credit
formula is "monumentally
bad," says Ira Rheingold, ex-
ecutive director of the Nation-
al Association of Consumer
Advocates. "I'm absolutely
stunned that they would do
this."
The OCC disagrees with

the consumer advocates. It
also says regulators could
take further action if the
banks fail to meet the deal's
requirements for well-struc-
tured assistance.
The $9.3 billion settlement
largely replaces a 2011 agree-
ment reached between the
regulators and the compa-
nies. That one required case-
by-case foreclosure reviews
and was too slow and costly,
regulators say.
Borrowers can call 888-
952-9105 if they need to up-
date their contact informa-
tion.

ADVTISEI i ERO

President Obama to name

Edith Ramirez head of FTC

By Mark Felsenthal
and Diane Bartz

(Reuters) Presi-
dent Barack Obama
intends to name Edith
Ramirez, once a col-
league of his at the
Harvard Law Review,
as chairwoman of the
Federal Trade Commis-
sion, a White House of-
ficial said recently.
Ramirez has been
an FTC commissioner
since April 2010. She
was a Los Angeles
lawyer specializing in
business litigation and
intellectual property
before joining the com-
mission.
Ramirez, who gradu-
ated from Harvard Law
School a year after the
president, was the edi-
tor of the Law Review
at the time Obama was
its first Black presi-
dent, according to the
school.
Ramirez went on to
be Obama's director
of Latino Outreach in
California in 2008.
As a commissioner,

BARACK OBAMA
a nominee for the open
spot.
The agency has been
focusing recently on
intellectual property
issues, including the
problem of companies
with patent portfo-
lios filing frivolous in-
fringement lawsuits.
"Ramirez brings a
wealth of IP litigation
experience which will
help guide the FTC at
a time where we need
much stronger anti-
trust enforcement,"
said David Balto, a
former FTC policy di-
rector now in private
practice.

MDC Wolfson launches seminars

MDC
continued from 6D

can assist in foster-
ing the local econo-
my," said Dr. Ana M.
Cruz, chairperson,
School of Business,

Wolfson Campus.
MDC has been
awarded multiple
grants since 2007
from Citi Founda-
tion that enables the
College to offer these
free technical work-

shops to hundreds
of existing business
owners.
For more informa-
tion about these free
business workshops,
contact George Ray
at 305-237-7102.

NOTICE OF INVITATION TO BID OR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
1450 N.E. 2ND AVENUE, ROOM 351
MIAMI, FLORIDA 33132
Solicitations are subject to School Board Policy 6325, Cone of Silence.
For more details please visit: http://procurement.dadeschools.net

BID NUMBER/
OPENING DATE

BID TITLE/PRE-BID CONFERENCE

027-NN05 PAPER: CARBONLESS AND SPECIALTY
3/19/2013

MIA-NTD FIS Re-check Concourse Level
MCC-779Y

MCM is soliciting bids for this project under the MCC-8-10 Program at Miami-
Dade Aviation Department:

Notice of Public Hearing Date on the proposed
Substantial Amendment to the FY 1998
through FY 2013 Action Plans
A public hearing is scheduled for the Health and Social Services Committee on
Monday, March 11,2013, at 1:30 p.m., in the Board of County Commissioners Chambers located on
the second level of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW 1st Street, Miami, Florida. The purpose of the
hearing is to give the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed Substantial Amendment to the
FY 1998 though FY 2013 Action Plans. The proposed Amendment seeks to recapture and reallocate
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)
program funds. The public is invited to attend and comment. Comments may also be submitted
in writing from February 25, 2013 through March 29, 2013 to the attention of Mr. Gregg Fortner,
Executive Director, Public Housing and Community Development (PHCD), 701 NW 1st Court, 16th
Floor, Miami, Florida 33136. Federal regulations governing the CDBG and HOME programs require that
a participating jurisdiction provide citizens with reasonable notice of, and an opportunity to comment
on, any proposed allocation of CDBG and HOME funds. The proposed Substantial Amendment is
available at PHCD Administrative office and on the website at http://www.miamidade.gov/housina/.
The Substantial Amendment to the FY 1998 through FY 2013 Action Plan includes the following:
CDBG Recaptured and Reallocated Amount: $6,228,576.58 recaptured and reallocated to
Administration, Public Faj:iiiii. : ,apial Improvements, Economic Development, Housing and Public
Services activities.
HOME Recaptured and Reallocated Amount: $2,209,000.00 recaptured and reallocated to
Housing Rental New CIr ,i rucjti: ,i rihn activities.
PHCD does not discriminate based on race, sex, color, religion, marital status, national
origin, 331isatlbly, ancestry, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy or familial status in the
access to, admissions to, or employment in housing programs or activities. If you
need a sign language interpreter or materials in accessible format for this event, call
786-469-2203 at least five days in advance. TDD/TTY users may contact the Florida Relay Service at
800-955-8771.
111For ega ad ol ["ilne, goto ftp//I galads1iamiddeTgo

THE NATION'S #1 BLACK NEWSPAPER

8D THE MIAMI TIMES. MARCH 6-12. 2015 I

EDITH RAMIREZ
Ramirez does not re-
quire Senate confirma-
tion.
She will replace Jon
Leibowitz at the head
of the agency, which
works to protect con-
sumers from unfair
business practices and
maintain competition
in the marketplace.
Leibowitz's de-
parture leaves two
Democrats and two
Republicans on the
commission, which at
full strength has five
members. In the case
of a 2-2 vote, no action
is taken. There has
been no word so far on

MIAMI TIMES

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F R 0 .A\ i () U N D

Tl I I G L O B E

1 3 0,D

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CITIES ACROSS

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EASE

THE COUNTRY

THE SEARCH FO

ARE USING

MOB

R A PARKING PL

By Emma Beck

A growing number of driv-
ers are turning to a high-tech
solution for a low-tech problem
- finding a parking spot in
the nation's congested cities.
From Pittsburgh to Los An-
geles and dozens of cities in
between mobile applications
are becoming available to ease
drivers' search for a place to
park.
The problem doesn't always
stem from too few spots, but
from not enough information
about where to find available
parking, said Kelly Schwager,
the chief marketing officer for
Streetline, a smart parking
provider.
Parker, Streetline's inte-
grated smartphone parking
application, feeds users with
real-time data of parking avail-
ability, pay-by-phone options
and alerts for remaining meter
times in more than 20 cit-
ies, including Reno, Nev., and
Hollywood, Calif. Developed in
2010, the application combines
pay-by-phone functionality
with parking availability data
for a "bird's eye view of the
city," Schwager said.
Parker, which uses low-pow-
ered, wireless sensors embed-
ded in parking spaces to detect
when and where a spot opens,
is so far the only application to

ii .

The Parker mobile app from Streetline
smartphone device in an automobile.

provide real-time, street-park-
ing availability on a national
scale. But there are several
other city-specific systems in
place, some also working in
partnership with Streetline.
San Francisco's SFpark
program, operated by sen-
sors from a company called
StreetSmart, is an automated
parking solutions provider,
that so far covers about 7,000
of the city's 28,000 metered
spots in addition to 12,250
spaces in 14 of the 20 San
Francisco Municipal Trans-
portation owned parking
.garages, according to SF-

-Photo: Streetline
is displayed on a

park's program manager, Jay
Primus.
Using data from the city's
public and private garages,
Pittsburgh's ParkPGH pro-
gram combines real-time data
and predictive algorithms,
developed by Carnegie Mellon
University and based on park-
ing trends, to provide current
and future parking availabil-
ity in the city's downtown,
cultural district, said Stan
Caldwell, the deputy director
of the Technology for Safe and
Efficient Transportation at
Carnegie Mellon.
Indianapolis' Parklndy

program, powered by Streelt- rp -
line, tracks availability in a II .: .
metered spaces of the 3,60: .
spots in the Indianapolis
downtown and surrounding
areas, said Chris Gilligan, a
corporate communications
manager for Xerox, a part o 4 4
of the operating team that
partnered with the city and
integrated with parking pro-
viders, including Streetline
and ParkMobile, to develop
ParkIndy.
The federally funded pro-
gram, L.A Express Park,
introduced last May and
developed by Xerox, of-
fers two mobile apps that
track downtown parking
availability via Street- Samsung
line sensors in 6,000 Galaxy
metered spots and 7,500
city-owned spaces. smartphone
Twenty-eight percent of
Los Angeles drivers spend
11 to 20 minutes circling for a
parking space, according to
2011 Commuter Pain IBM
study found. A 2005 study
by Donald Shodp, a UCLA
professor and author of The
High Cost of Free Parking,
found that Los Angeles
motorists drove more than
950,000 miles in search of
a spot, producing roughly
730 tons of carbon dioxide
and using 47,000 gallons
of gas.

The Samsung Chromebook:

A great second computer

Low-cost Chromebooks are best for folks

who have easy access to the Internet

By Suzanne Kantra

Take a moment to think
about how computers are
S used in your home. How
Much of that time do
iyou spend browsing
the web, working on
word processing documents
or presentations and checking
email and social networks? If your
answer is a good chunk of the
time, you may be a candidate for a
Chromebook computer.
Chromebooks run Google's

Chrome OS, which looks like the
Chrome Web browser but runs
apps as well. In fact, there's a
whole ecosystem of Chrome apps
available through the Chrome Web
Store. There are games, like Angry
Birds Heikki, Battlefield and Need
for Speed World; productivity
tools, including Dropbox, Picasa
and Evernote; and, of course there
are the Google apps, like Google
Docs, Gmail and Google Maps.
Currently, there are tens of thou-
sands of apps available through
the Chrome Web Store-some that

are primarily web-based and some
that run within a browser tab, but
have been downloaded and work
offline.
Chromebooks are best for people
who always have access to an In-
ternet connection. That's because
many of the apps are built to run
online, though staples like word
processing and mail will work of-
fline as well. And, you'll be storing
most of your documents online,
which is fine thanks to the 100GB
or more of free online storage that
comes with all models.
Google has taken advantage
of the way Chrome OS works to
bring a high level of security to
Please turn to CHOMEBOOK 10D

Apple may introduce a new

watch-like device this year

By Roger Yu

Apple may introduce a
watch-like device this year,
according to Bloomberg
News
Apple has about 100
product designers working.
on the project CO
Apple has filed at least 79
patent applications that include the
word "wrist"
Apple may speed up the devel-
opment of a wristwatch-like de-
vice and introduce it as early as
this year, according to a report by
Bloomberg News.
With about 100 product designers
working on the project and having
filed at least 79 patent applications

that include the word "wrist,"
S the company is working on a
S watch that may include fea-
tures for making calls, iden-
tifying callers, checking map
t -- coordinates, counting walk-
ing steps and monitoring
health data, the report says,
OK citing a person familiar with
Apple's plans.
Under pressure to create new
products for further revenue
growth, Apple CEO Tim Cook has
said publicly that he is interested in
developing a smart TV but fell short
of disclosing specific plans.
Citigroup analyst Oliver Chen told
Bloomberg that the watch industry
will generate more than $60 billion
in sales in 2013.

Browsing the internet on iPad stinks

Apple likes it

that way
By Hank Nothhaft, Jr.

When iPads were first in-
troduced in 2010, an Apple
press release promised
that the "iPad's revolution-
ary Multi-Touch interface
makes surfing the web an
entirely new experience,
dramatically more interac-
tive and intimate than on a
computer." The implication
was that the web via the
tablet would be unrecogniz-
able and vastly superior:
hoverboarding compared
with surfing on my laptop
and doggie paddling on

my phone.
Yet, here it is three years
on, and we're still waiting
for that "interactive and
intimate" browsing experi-
ence (and hoverboards, for
that matter).
A recent study conducted
by Onswipe revealed that
iPads account for a whop-
ping 98.1. percent of tablet
traffic on websites. Despite
this, the actual experi-
ence of surfing the web on
an iPad is underwhelming
at best and infuriating at
worst. Simply put, today's
state-of-the-art tablet
browsers, especially Sa-
fari, don't do the Inter netr.
the user, or the iPad
justice. Apple

wasn't totally wrong: The
iPad has proven itself to be
a revolutionary device that
absolutely has the potential
to offer a transformative
web-browsing experience.
It just hasn't vet. Which
n-c.-r;, there s a .gaip in the-
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irnn-er r i nn. : ,'n art,.e iPP...
br,:v, sr \ h. hoe,.er de: el-

ops it is going to win big.
As more and more of the
services we use on a daily
basis have migrated to the
Please turn to iPAD 10D

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THE NATION'S #1 BLACK NEWSPAPER

rir TE k lTirA *AAoPA i )nix7 I

S. Fl pension fund gets a windfall

By Lisa J. Huriash

Municipal employee pen-
sion funds some covering
general employees, firefight-
ers, police and utilities -
across South Florida and
the state, are expecting
a windfall of cash within
the next week as part of a
settlement reached with the
former Merrill Lynch.
Out of 78 police, firefight-
er and general employee
pension plans, more than a
dozen plans are in Broward,
including Coral Springs,
Dania Beach, Deerfield
Beach, Lauderhill, Mira-
mar, Pompano Beach and
Sunrise. The list also in-
cludes plans in Palm Beach
County including Boyn-
ton Beach, Lake Worth,
Riviera Beach and West
Palm Beach. Settlements
- which came to about 50
cents on the dollar before
fees and costs for each
plan range from $3,455 to
$617,334.

The lawsuit was settled
earlier this year in federal
court and after a $2.1 mil-
lion payment to the attor-
neys, the rest of the money
goes back into the pension
plans of the parties involved
in the class-action lawsuit.
"I think the board has
been vindicated," said Ste-

- which included having
associations with those
money managers while
acting as consultants to
the retirement plans. And,
Merrill Lynch failed to ad-
equately disclose that "12b1
fees" charges to cover
marketing and research -
were folded into the overall

"We feel it's very fair, we recouped fees
| that we paid that we shouldn't have ever
been charged."
-GINA ORLANDO

phen Cypen, attorney for
the Parkland Police Pen-
sion Plan, which will receive
a settlement of $13,670.
"We paid for something we
shouldn't have paid in the
first place."
The $8.5 million class-
action lawsuit alleges
Merrill Lynch breached its
responsibility to the pension
funds by acting in its own
interest when selecting and
promoting money managers

management fee.
The alleged actions hap-
pened from 2000 through
2008, when Merrill Lynch
stopped providing invest-
ment consulting services to
Florida governmental pen-
sion plans. The investment
banking firm was pur-
chased by Bank of America
later that year.
"It is alleged they put their
interest ahead of the inter-
est of their clients," said the

plaintiff's Plantation-based
attorney, Robert Klausner.
The 2010 suit follows a $1
million 'fine of Merrill Lynch
by the federal government
in 2009 and alleges that
"Merrill Lynch lulled the
retirement .plans and the
class into a false sense of
security."
In Sunrise, the general
employee's pension fund
will receive $125,757. In
Plantation, the city's Gen-
eral Employees Retirement
System will receive $75,187
and the Plantation Fire-
men's Retirement System
will receive $27,686.
In Coral Springs, the city's
Firefighters' Retirement
System will receive about
$29,000 and the general
employees retirement plan
gets back about $37,000.
"We feel it's very fair, we
recouped fees that we paid
that we shouldn't have ever
been charged," said city
pension administrator Gina
Orlando.

Consumers not impressed with iPad browser

iPAD
continued from 9D

cloud, the web browser has
become the computer's most
essential app. And when we
surf the web on a computer,
we encounter few obstacles.
Though we may have to scale
the occasional paywall or
sit through an obligatory
five seconds of an ad be-
fore accessing content, the
navigational experience of a
computer user is fluid and
frictionless as anyone
who's gone down the rab-
bit hole researching alpaca
breeds or underrated Val
Kilmer films at 3 a.m. can at-
test.
Surfing the web is far less
pleasurable on an iPad. Visit-
ing a site frequently presents

one with a pop-up and a di-
lemma: Download the app, or
endure the diminished expe-
rience of a website designed
for another device. Safari is
essentially a limited version
of its desktop sibling and
apps almost always provide
a better experience. (Or, as
Firefox UX Lead Alex Limi
has summed it up, it's "kind
of sucky.")
Of course, this is sort of the
point. It's in Apple's, or any
tablet maker's, best interest
to make using (read: buying)
apps preferable to visiting
websites. Safari is designed
to make using web-based
apps on an iPad inconve-
nient, if not impossible.
. In response, most compa-
nies focus their mobile devel-
opment resources on creating

native apps rather than opti-
mizing their content for tab-
let browsers.
The result is a browsing ex-
perience full of flow-breakers.
In short, on a computer the.
browsing experience is lim-
itless; on a tablet, it's filled,
with blind alleys and false
doors.
WHY WEB
BROWSING STILL
MATTERS
There is an impulse among
some to assume that the rise
of apps or, more sensation-
ally, the death of the web-
site will eventually render
browsers, or at least mobile
ones, obsolete.
While it's true that more
and more content is con-
sumed through apps, and

that personalization has
shifted our approach to con-
tent from searching to get-
ting, the average number of
Google searches per day has
steadily increased by an
astounding one trillion each
year.
But even if we accept that
the importance of mobile
websites is on the wane,
there's no reason, for mobile
browsers to beat them to an
early grave. There is plenty
of room for resurrection, but
only if we throw out desk-
top-based notions of what a
browser looks and feels like.
Freed of all the tasks and re-
sponsibilities that other apps
accomplish, tablet browsers
should offer an absorbing,
engaging innovative experi-
ence.

State to revisit hot topics

AGENDA
continued from 7D

said House Speaker
Will Weatherford, R-
Wesley Chapel.
The issue: After the
2012 election, Sec-
retary of State Ken
Detzner recommend-
ed in January adding
more days and loca-
tions for early voting
and imposing word
limits on- lawmakers'
ballot questions, like
the 11 constitutional
amendments on last
year's ballot.
What's happening:
Both the House and
Senate are advanc-
ing bills that return
early voting to 14 days
and at least 64 hours,
along with limiting
ballot summaries to
75 words. The legisla-
tion also would expand
early voting sites to in-
clude fairgrounds, civic

centers, courthouses,
county commission
buildings, stadiums
and convention centers.
Chances of passing:
High. Lawmakers are
under the gun to re-
Sspond to Democratic
critics and the tongue-
lashing they took from
cable-news pundits.

TAX BREAKS
The issue: Gov. Rick
Scott wants to give
$278 million in new tax
dollars to corporations
that pledge to create
new jobs and another
$141 million in corpo-
rate-tax cuts to man-
ufacturers and small
businesses. Legislators
also are rushing to line
up more tax perks for
companies and sports
teams at the same time
they publicly criticize
the state's past tax-in-
centive track record.
What's happening:

Besides what Scott is
urging, legislators are
floating a dozen bills
to create tax breaks
for corporations or
perpetuate existing
breaks, such as lift-
ing the $7 million cap
on tax refunds in two
programs just as Lock-
heed Martin and Fideli-
ty National Financial of
Jacksonville near the
lifetime caps.
Plus, the Miami Dol-
phins, Jacksonville
Jaguars, Daytona In-
ternational Speedway
and Major League Soc-
cer boosters in Orlando
are getting in line for
new $2 million annual
tax rebates.
Chances of passing:
Medium. Increased
public scrutiny of tax
deals that flopped and
jobs that never materi-
alized have made tack-
ling the issue trickier
this year.

CITY OF MIAMI
ADVERTISEMENT FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Sealed responses will be received at the City of Miami, City Clerk office located
at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, and Fl., 33133 for the following:

Detailed for the Request of Qualifications (RFQ) are at the City of Miami, Pur-
chasing Department, website at www.miamigov.com/procurement Telephone
No. 305-416-1906.

THIS SOLICITATION IS SUBJECT TO THE "CONE OF SILENCE" IN AC-
CORDANCE WITH CITY OF MIAMI CODE SECTION 18-74 ORDINANCE
NO.12271.
Johnny Martinez, P. E.
City Manager
AD NO. 16438

Online service may protect children

TOOL
continued from 4C

more than 17.3 million images
and videos while helping pros-
ecute child sexual-exploitation
cases and locating victims of
child pornography.
"Children are prevalent In-
ternet users, even at an early
age, and they are more vul-
nerable than adults to online
tracking, because they are by
nature more trusting," Irvin
says.

Meanwhile, the Federal
Trade Commission has been
slow to update the Children's
Online Privacy Protection Act
of 1998, partly because of
heavy lobbying by the online
advertising industry against
any new Do Not Track rules.
As advertisers, app develop-
ers and privacy advocates con-
tinue to wage the national Do
Not Track debate, a big part of
the burden falls on parents to
protect their kids online.
"Many application devel-

opers don't even know what
data is being collected via the
ad networks," says Kevin Ma-
haffey, chief technology officer
at mobile-security firm Look-
out. "Parents need to talk to
their kids about the birds and
the bees and about being
safe on mobile."
Parents' due diligence starts
with familiarizing themselves
with products and services,
many of them free, available
through child online-safety
initiatives.

Samsung Chromebook uses Google

CHROMEBOOK
continued from 9D

Chromebooks. The OS is au-
tomatically updated, so se-
curity fixes are automatically
installed. Chrome OS treats
each tab in the browser as a
sandbox, so if malware is en-
countered, it can't leave. And,
each time the system starts, it
does a self-check and makes
any necessary repairs. In fact,
Google is so confident in the
security of Chrome OS that the
company is hosting a hack-a-
thon and awarding anyone who

"breaks in" a prize of $150,000.
The other selling point of
Chromebooks is their ultra-
low price point. Aside from
the ultra-sleek, touchscreen
Chromebook Pixel ($1,299)
introduced earlier this week,
models range from $199 to
$329. Usually, when you see
computers priced this low, it's
a red flag for cheap, chunky
construction, unrespon-
sive programs and tiny key-
boards and displays. Not so
with Chromebooks. The svelte
11.6-inch Samsung Chrome-
book ($249) is just 0.7 inches

thick, with sleek styling (albeit
in plastic), and easily handles
the Chrome apps. Likewise, HP
Pavilion Chromebook ($329)
tackles apps efficiently, but
with a roomier 14-inch display.
Naturally, Chromebooks are
an attractive option for parents
to buy for their kids. However,
there are no built-in parental
controls-though they're in the
works. And, technically, kids
aren't supposed to have Google
accounts (at least those under
13), unless they've received
them through their school via
Google Education initiative.

Reporting your stock gains to IRS

TAX
continued from 7D

to the holdings you. sold last
year.
So what happens if your in-
vestments don't have a clear
buy date, either because you
performed multiple purchases
or because the shares were a
gift or inheritance? Well, spe-
cial cost basis rules then ap-
ply:
Multiple purchase prices
for a single stock or fund. If
you invested piecemeal over
the years, the default method
used by the IRS is called "first
in, first out." Like the phrase
implies, the first shares you
bought and the accompanying

price get reported first. If that
lot isn't big enough to fulfill the
entire sale, move to the next
oldest transaction and average
them together. In other words,
no cherry-picking the when
and what you paid to suit your
interests in 2012. That's a big
no-no with the IRS.
Inheritance investments.
If rich Uncle Vinny left you
100 shares of McDonald's, you
aren't just lucky because of
the generous gift. You're lucky
because your tax basis is de-
termined based on the date of
death so no detective work
is necessary. Simply take the
average of the high and low
on that day (or the previous
trading session if it's a week-

end). Also a plus: You default
to long-term capital gains sta-
tus, so even if you sold the in-
vestments immediately you fall
into the lowest tax bracket.
A gift of stock. If someone
bought you stock in 2012, you
logically have to peg your price
to the date of that transaction.
But if for some reason they
gifted you existing shares long
held in their portfolio, you are
beholden to their original cost
basis unless shares are lower
on the date of the gift. This can
involve some homework, then,
to find out which is better for
you. Or worse, this can involve
a lot of sleuthing if the gener-
ous person in question hasn't
kept good records.

g OneUnited BANK

Dear John Mortgage Company,

I'm writing you this letter to tell you
that I'm leaving you forever.

I've been a good customer for many
years and have nothing to show for it.
These last four years have been horrible.
Interest rates dropped over 3%, and I
was still not able to refinance because
I owe you more than my home is worth.

ACCOUNTANT
Requires at least five years
experience and a bachelor's
degree in accounting and
its equivalency is accepted.
Mail resume to Therapy
Alliance, 5979 NW 151
Street, Miami Lakes, FL
33014.

ROUTE DRIVERS
We are seeking drivers to
deliver newspaper to retail
outlets in Broward and
Miami Dade.
Wednesday Only
You must be available
between the hours of 6
a.m. and 3 p.m. Must have
reliable, insured vehicle and
current Driver License.
Apply in person at:
The Miami Times
900 N.W. 54th Street

SOUTH DADE
ROUTE DRIVER
We are seeking a driver to
deliver newspaper to retail
outlets in South Dade.
Wednesday Only
You must be available
between the hours of 6
a.m. and 4 p.m. Must have
reliable, insured vehicle and
current Driver License.
Apply in person at:
The Miami Times
900 N.W. 54th Street

ADMIN ASSISTANT
TRAINEES NEEDED!
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YOU ARE NOTIFIED that
an Administrative Complaint
has been filed against
you seeking td revoke
your CORRECTIONAL
Certificate in accordance
with Section 943.1395, F.S.,
and any rules promulgated
thereunder.

You are required to serve a
written copy of your intent to
request a hearing pursuant
to Section 120.57, F.S. upon
Jennifer C. Pritt, Program
Director, Criminal Justice
Professionalism Program,
Florida Department of Law
Enforcement, P. O. Box
1489, Tallahassee, Florida
32302-1489, on or before
April 26, 2013. Failure to
do so will result in a default
being entered against you
to Revoke said certification
pursuant to Section 120.60,
F.S., and Rule 11B-27,
F.A.C.

The ownership of a pri-
vate island in the Baha-
mas that was previously
a retreat of the late,
prominent South Florida
designer James Wallace
Tutt III and which has
been at the center of a
five-year legal dispute -
is now in the hands of
the Bahamian court.
The Third District
Court of Appeal in
Miami on Wednesday af-
firmed three lower court
judges' decisions that the
matter has to be decided
in the Bahamas and not
in Miami.
Tutt, an interior
designer and developer
whose elegant style at-
tracted celebrity clients
including Cher, Gianni
Versace, Robert De Niro
and Diane von Fursten-
berg, died in 2010 at age
53 on Harbour Island in
the Bahamas. His death
was apparently heart
related, according to a
statement from his fam-
ily at the time.
Tutt moved to South
Florida in the 1980s
after working as a lawyer
and builder in Washing-
ton, D.C.
Here, he gained noto-
riety for transforming
the mansion of the late
Italian designer Versace
into Casa Casuarina, a
South Beach icon.
Tutt and his life part-
ner, Don Purdy, moved
to Harbour Island in
2002, where they trans-
formed a 1940s home
into a luxury 10-room
hotel, Rock House.
Tutt also bought Cari-
be Cay, a three-acre pri-
vate island with a home,
off Harbour Island, as a
retreat.
In 2006, Tutt agreed
to sell the island to Guy
Mitchell, an investor
with a home in Coral
Gables, said Tutt's
longtime lawyer Stuart
Sobel, a partner in Sieg-
fried, Rivera, Lerner, De
la Torre & Sobel in Coral
Gables.
Over several months,
Mitchell paid $2.9 mil-
lion of the $2.925 million
purchase price but never
took title to the island
for reasons that were
never clear, Sobel said.
Mitchell, who had
real estate investments
in New York, ran into
financial trouble, and
two companies that
had judgments totaling
$57 million against him
tried to seize his as-
sets including either
the Caribe Cay property
or the proceeds from its
sale.
Lawsuits followed and

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have waged on for years,
ultimately resulting in
the appeal court's deci-
sion.
"We're looking forward
to delivering the deed
to whichever entity the
Bahamian court decides
is entitled," said Sobel,
who has represented

Tutt's estate in the litiga-
tion. "As the court wrote,
while the facts were com-
plex and convoluted, the
issues were really simple
and always have been."
Calls to several at-
torneys representing
the appellants were not
returned.

Hadley Gardens Apartments
A Community for the Elderly
Address: 3031 N.W. 19th Avenue
Miami, Florida 33142
The Waiting List for Efficiency and One Bedroom
Apartments will be closing on Friday, 03/08/2013.

Bi0l.

AD NO. 16439

Island's fate is up to Bahamas

CITY OF HIALEAH
Certified Police Officer
$40,611.60 $61,648.20 Yearly

Applications for Certified Police Officer are being
accepted from March 11 22, 2013. Applicants
must be FDLE certified in law enforcement and
must apply in person at 501 Palm Avenue, 3rd
Floor, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

African-Americans and women, as well as other
minorities are encouraged to apply. For more in-
formation, call our Job Hotline at (305) 883-8057 or
visit our website at www.hialeahfl.qov.

The Norland Vikings boys'
basketball team has won
back-to-back Class 6A State
Championships with a 42-30
defeat of the Pine Forest Ea-
gles (Pensacola) last Saturday
at the Lakeland Center. It's
the fourth for Viking's head
coach Lawton Williams in his
10-year stint at Norland, and
adds to the other seven state
titles the burgeoning athletic
powerhouse has claimed in
the last 11 years. The girls'
basketball team and the
football team have earned two
titles each in that time.
"[Winning back-to-back]

was our goal," Williams said.
"We'd never done that before."
I While the game was sloppy,
with 47 combined turnovers,
Norland's defense kept them
ahead the entire game and al-
lowed them to eventually pull
away from the Eagles,
Scoring was low on both
sides of the game, including
a 5-point first quarter where
Norland (26-5) shutout Pine
Forest (30-2).
"We have growing pains,"
Williams said of his team that
does not start any seniors.
The team motto 'keep push-
ing' may have been the key
ingredient in this game for
Norland who struggled offen-
sively; the Vikings averaged
almost 80 points in their prior

filled his role of bringing the
energy that kept Norland just
ahead of the Eagles in each
quarter.

"I have to make sure I
punch the team in their
throat," Johnson said, figura-
tively. "But we're conditioned
and we're disciplined."
Williams, who had become
used to winning by large
margins, did not let up on his
team.
"We had to keep putting it
in the meat grinder and keep
working on the little things
throughout the entire year,"
he added.
The year that called for so
much attention to nuances
has also been difficult for Wil-
liams on a personal level with
the loss of his mother, Bobbie,
back in June.
"It's been a mentally taxing
year," Lawton said, "but that's
why we said 'keep pushing.'"
Norland became just the
fourth Miami-Dade County
school to win consecutive

SOUTH MIAMI FALLS IN
CLASS 8A CHAMPIONSHIP
South Miami (28-4) who
had an impressive year,
including the Greater Miami
Athletic Conference win, fell
just short of its first state
title 44-34 against Hagerty
High School (Oveido) in the
Class 8A championship game.
Dropping an eight point half-
time lead from the three-point
onslaught brought on by the
Huskies (27-5), the Cobras
headed back to Miami-Dade
County disappointed and
with the team's third runner-
up trophy.
"Everything has to be
earned not given," South
Miami head coach, Robert
Doctor.

UM opens spring football season

North Korean TV Broadcasts Video of Rod...: North Korean television
broadcasts video of former NBA star player Dennis Rodman watching a
basketball game with the country's leader, Kim Jong-un.

Long shot: diplomacy

done Rodman-style

Kim Jong-un wants

Obama to call him

By Steve Schrader

-So other than sequestration, what
should Americans be concerned with
today?
"There is nobody at the CIA who
could tell you more personally about
Kim Jong Un than Dennis Rodman.
And that in itself is scary," said ABC
News consultant Stephen Ganyard, a
former Marine pilot and diplomat.
The clip got a laugh from Rodman,
who was on this morning's "This
Week with George Stephanopoulos"
to explain last week's trip to North
Korea. For his appearance, Rodman
wore a Polo cap, oversize bejeweled
shades and a jacket patterned with
Benjamins and other paper money --
all in a studio whose usual outland-
ish fashion statement is a George
Will bowtie.
Rodman's observations included:
How he buddied up with Kim,
the North Korean leader, despite his
threats against the U.S. and human
rights transgressions: "I understand
why he's doing that. I don't condone
that. I hate the fact that he's do-
ing that. But the fact is, you know
what, that's a human being. He let
his guard down to me, as a friend. I
didn't talk about that."
Kim is just a 28-year-old kid, and

he was raised that way: "He loves.
power. He loves being in control,
because of his dad. But he's a great
guy. He's just a great guy, if you sit
down and talk to him."
And Kim wants President Obama,
a fellow Chicago Bulls fan, to call
him.
Why he called Kim a great leader:
"What I saw in that country ... I saw
people respect him and his family.
That's what I meant by that."
Rodman disagreed with Stepha-
nopoulos, who suggested they might
be forced to do so.
Once again, about those prison
camps ... "I'm not apologizing for
him. He's a good guy to me. He's my
friend. I don't condone what he does,
but as far as a person to person, he's
my friend. ...
"We have presidents over here that
do the same thing, right? It's amaz-
ing that Bill Clinton can have sex
with his secretary, get away with it
and still be in power."
Huh? said everybody, including
Stephanopoulos.
Once agan, if there's any confu-
sion, Rodman wanted to clear it up:
He's not a diplomat. But he said he
does plan on returning to North Ko-
rea to see his buddy again.
When he does, Stephanopoulos
suggested he take along the Human
Rights Watch report on North Korea,
and handed it to him.
"Don't hate me," Rodman said.

Team welcomes new

assistant coaches

By Associated Press

More than three months after the
end of the 2012 season, the Miami
Hurricanes started spring practice
last Saturday.
And coach Al Golden thinks his
team largely picked up from where
it left off last fall.
Golden gave the Hurricanes rave
reviews after about a two-hour
workout, one where the team had
three new assistant coaches on
the field to work with a group that
brings 20 starters back on the of-
fensive and defensive side of the
football. "
"Good tempo, good start," Golden
said. "I told the team I thought we
were better today than when we
got back from (the season-finale at
Duke), which is not easy to do."
Miami did not go to a bowl game
in 2012 after a second-straight
season of self-imposed sanctions
because of the NCAA investigation
into the Hurricanes' athletic de-
partment. The Hurricanes finished
7-5 last season and, if they had
chosen to go to postseason play,
would have represented the Coastal
Division in the Atlantic Coast Con-
ference title game.
Golden has long said that he be-
lieves the worst is over for Miami as
it relates to the investigation.
Now that the sanctions phase
has begun the Hurricanes are

University of Miami head football coach Al Golden

preparing for a June 14-15 hear-
ing before the NCAA's Committee
on Infractions Golden's thinking
has not changed.
"That's signaling of the beginning
of the end to me was big," Golden
said. "You could almost sense it
in the building and for the play-
ers that we have a chance to move
forward now. We know that there's
at least a terminal date now as
opposed to being in the gray and
we're excited about moving for-
ward."
Miami's new assistants are offen-
sive coordinator James Coley, tight
ends coach Larry Scott and run-
ning backs coach Hurlie Brown,
who had worked with the Hurri-

canes in a non-coaching capacity.
Coley came to Miami from Flor-
ida State, where he had the same
title but was not calling plays. At.
Miami, Coley will replace Jedd
Fisch, who left for the NFL's Jack-
sonville Jaguars.
"I'm excited about him," Golden
said of Coley, adding that they've
had mutual friends and a high level
of respect for one another for some
time. "He brings a lot of energy, a
lot of knowledge, passion. And he's
really done a great job just taking
over. He's put his ego aside because
we didn't want to mess with the
quarterbacks and the offense too
much in terms of terminology. He's
put his own spin on things."

Tiger crashes in final round of Classic

By Steve DiMeglio

PALM BEACH GAR-
DENS, Fla. Tiger Woods
was stuck in neutral
through the first three
rounds of the Honda Clas-
sic, struggling to back-
to-back-to-back even-par
70s.
A double bogey on No.
6 at PGA National, fol-
lowed by a bogey at No.
7, erased an early birdie
and crashed any chances
Woods could make a
final-round charge.
Woods did close out
with an eagle to finish out
his round of 4-over 74.
"I just made too many
penalties this week,"

Tiger Woods struggled to a four-over par 74 in the
final round of the Honda Classic on Sunday.
Woods said. "Today is a actually a decent score.
perfect example, I didn't So just got to clean up my
play that poorly. I had rounds.
two water balls and a lost ... I had a lost ball
ball. Take those away, today and two water balls
and I missed two short and shot 4 over. The pen-
birdie putts, and it was alty shots certainly added

up my score and it was
a round that I felt like I
should have shot probably
even par or maybe 1 or 2
under."
"I feel good with what I
did, though," Woods said.
"It's just penalty shots."
He began the day eight
shots behind co-leaders
Michael Thompson and
Michael Thompson and
Luke Guthrie. A year
earlier, Woods fired a final
round 62 to put some
pressure on eventual win-
ner Rory Mcllroy.
"I passed 62 somewhere
on 12," Woods said with a
smile. Actually, he passed
62 with the third of three
putts on the par-3 15th.

Kobe personfies greatness
No matter the sport, all of us tion. However, when speaking
can appreciate greatness. It is of Kobe Bryant of the Los An-
a word in sports that is used geles Lakers we are watching
too often but does not always a great player who should be
apply to any particular situa- approaching the twilight of his

career at 34 years of age. We
have seen it happen with many
of his peers, some of them no
longer in the NBA: Allen Iver-
son, Tracy McGrady.
Or folks like Vince Carter
and Grant Hill still hang-
ing around as shells of their
former selves. What Bryant is
doing is highly unusual; we
have seen it in the past with
Michael Jordan who was still
winning championships at a
similar age and Kareem Abdul
Jabbar who was still a force

as he approached 40. Bryant
is third in the NBA in scor-
ing and shooting the highest
percentage of his career. He
still has the ability to rise over
defenders and throw down vi-
cious slam dunks.
He has his younger defend-
ers watching in awe as he hits
big shot after big shot.
Greatness. 'That is what we
are all witnessing with Bryant
and we should appreciate it
while we can. It is easy to rec-
ognize in other sports as well

- Jerry Rice and Brett Favre
in the NFL who were able to be
so great for so long.
Athletes who display the will
to be the best and train harder
to outlast their opponent. Con-
sider Jimmy Connors or John
McEnroe in tennis or Sugar
Ray Leonard in boxing who flat
out refused to quit in that first
fight against Thomas Hearns.
Each of them possessed the
desire to be the best and made
the commitment to maintain
that standard. Whether the

Lakers make the playoffs or
not this year is not the point
- it is the level of play of the
Black Mamba despite all of
those years of wear and tear
on his body.
The 17-year veteran shows
few signs of slowing down but
of course in the end Father
Time will have his way. After
all, he is still undefeated in the
game of life.
The Sports Brothers, Jeff Fox
& Ed Freeman, can be heard
daily on WQAM 560 Sports.